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Link Blog

The Link Blog is a space for members, and others, to express their views about the natural environment.


It includes our year plan and Agriculture Bill series, as well as our Blueprint for Water focused blogs.

If you would like to contribute a blog, please contact Emma Adler.

Filter posts:

Putting housing over heritage threatens rural democracy and wildlife

Published on: 8 May 2018

The Campaign to Protect Rural England and the National Trust both recognise that a democratic planning system is crucial to delivering high quality housing in harmony with our natural heritage.

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Embrace the dawn chorus

Published on: 4 May 2018

It’s half four in the morning and the sun is less than a suggestion beyond the eastern horizon, a deep blue ribbon crowning the distant trees. I’m standing on the dew-drenched grass of Idle Valley Nature Reserve, my local Wildlife Trust site. Before me a lake lies dormant...

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Colouring our countryside: meadows and the Agriculture Bill

Published on: 3 May 2018

Ancient meadows have quietly disappeared from under our feet. Without the roar of chainsaws or the sound of mighty oaks crashing to the ground, sites with undisturbed floral histories going back generations can be lost in a single afternoon...

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We need to fast forward to a net zero farming future

Published on: 2 May 2018

Climate disruption poses a major threat to farming and food production. Whether that’s unpredictable cold spring weather killing lambs, flooded fields, drought devastating crops, or worsening pest and disease problems, farmers are already bearing the brunt of an increasingly volatile climate, even here in the UK.

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A blueprint for future water resources

Published on: 27 April 2018

The Government has recently set out its proposals for a national policy statement (NPS) for water resources. The statement will underline the criteria for large-scale nationally important water resources schemes (aka large reservoirs, transfer pipes and desalination plants) to undergo a facilitated planning process to enable delivery. While for-thought is necessary, any schemes must add value for people and nature.

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Towards better trade in food

Published on: 26 April 2018

Since the decision to leave the European Union there has been a welcome focus on food and farming policy. However, the government’s approach is to think about agriculture as a domestic matter, with ‘international trade’ relegated to a short and general chapter at the end of Defra’s Command Paper.

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Stewards of land and water

Published on: 23 April 2018

Water quality is very sensitive to the practices of farmers. Hannah Freeman lays out how farmers can be encouraged to make decisions that not only look after public goods, but also make good business sense.

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The Withdrawal Bill must be amended to give a green Brexit a chance

Published on: 20 April 2018

Since the EU Withdrawal Bill was published in July 2017, the Government has patched over the flaws in its Brexit laws with promises to Parliament. With barely a month left to consider the bill, the time has come for Parliament to assert its authority and amend the legislation.

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Why we must record wildlife crime

Published on: 18 April 2018

The Government does not currently record wildlife crime effectively, but how can wildlife crime be effectively addressed and prevented until the extent of the problem is known? We’ve come together to produce an NGO led report on annual crime figures and the impact of this crime in five different areas.

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Health and Harmony: Link and Defra's future farming event

Published on: 18 April 2018

Wildlife and Countryside Link co-host a land mark consultation event with Defra on the the future of farming policy post Brexit.

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