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Spring / Summer 2018
Aspects of Land
In January the Government
revealed its long-term plan
for tackling environmental
issues. It covers air, rivers,
coastlines and countryside
and is hugely relevant to
rural estates and farmers
A
Green Future:
Our 25-Year Plan
to Improve the
Environment
is what the
Government
has called its
new, long-term
plan for the
environment. It is designed to be the
blueprint for sustainable development,
cutting-edge environmental science, clean
growth and increased resource efficiency
that will simultaneously nurture and
protect Britain’s wildlife, the environment
and the economy. When Prime Minister
Theresa May launched it in January, she
described it as: a “national plan of action,
with international ambition”.
The timing of the plan is not
coincidental. “When the UK leaves
the EU, control of important areas of
environmental policy will return to these
shores,” May said. “We will use this
opportunity to strengthen and enhance
the protections our countryside, rivers,
coastline and wildlife habitats enjoy, and
develop new methods of agricultural
and fisheries support which put the
environment first.”
The plan outlines ways to tackle climate
change, reduce plastics’ pollution and
encourage recycling and better use of
resources, while working in harmony with
the UK’s natural environment.
It addresses land management by
introducing new farming rules for water,
as well as protecting crops while reducing
the environmental impact of pesticides.
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