Time to put nature at the heart of our rural policy

RSPB Cymru played host to a special event at the Hay Festival looking at the nature of Brexit and the challenges and opportunities for wildlife and farming.

Until now, the way we farm and manage our land has been governed by the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Unfortunately, this failed to protect nature, the environment or build resilient agriculture.

Instead it encouraged unsustainable, largely uneconomic farming practices, damaging the countryside and causing a decline in our wildlife.

But now that we’re leaving the EU, we have the opportunity to create a new policy that’s good for nature and farmers alike.

With the Hay Festival celebrating its 30th birthday this year, our event explored what the next 30 years could look like if the natural environment was placed at the heart of farming policies postBrexit.

Chaired by RSPB Cymru director Katie-jo Luxton, special guests included journalist Louise Gray, the author of Ethical Carnivore; spoken-word poet Martin Daws; Welsh sheep farmer and Fairness for The Uplands representative Tony Davies; Huw Irranca-Davies, a member of the Welsh Assembly’s Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs (CCERA) Committee; Kevin Roberts, chairman of Amaeth Cymru; and Professor Steve Ormerod, chairman of the RSPB.

Prof Ormerod kicked off the debate, emphasising the huge impact farming has on nature and the importance of replacing the CAP policy with a structure that is good for nature and people alike.

Mr Roberts echoed the need for Welsh farmers to continue receiving support after the UK leaves the EU, highlighting that business and environmental needs have to be balanced in order for the farming industry to thrive.

CCERA committee member Mr Irranca-Davies noted the recommendations made in the committee’s recent report on the future of land management in Wales. His views echoed the need for any financial support to be based on environmental aims and outcomes, achieving set targets.

Ms Gray then stressed that consumers have a huge role to play in making good food choices, which in turn leads to changes which can help conserve nature.

As the event concluded with a question-and-answer session, the audience could hopefully begin to imagine a new land management policy, one that could be equally good for ordinary people, farmers and nature.