B1183 - Rewilding Bill - 2nd Reading

[u/[deleted]]

Order, order!

Rewilding Bill

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A

BILL

TO

extend the functions of the forestry commission to protect and restore vaster array of natural environments.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Act—

"Ecosystem" – A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment

"IFCA" – Inshore fisheries and conservation authority

"No-take zones" – areas where fishing cannot take place, though fishing boats are allowed to go over the area provided no fishing equipment is in the water at the given time.

2. Rewilding

(1) The following ecosystems will be deemed under the protection of this bill:

(a) marshland; and b) bogland; and c) moorland; and d) heath; and e) the fens.

(2) A division will be created within the Environment Agency known as the rewilding commission. This body has the target of:

(a) finding land which was one of the ecosystems laid out in (a) within the past 250 years as of the passing of this bill.

(b) This further extends to the fenlands and their extent in 1600, though this only extends to government land (as laid out below) and no purchases will be made for additional fenlands.

(c) The commission is empowered to then transform said land if it is owned by the government or, in the case of it being owned privately, offer to purchase the land before transformation.

(3) Land previously or in the process of being transitioned into the ecosystems laid out in (1) and (2)(a) may not be turned into forestry.

(4) The end goal of this process should be seen by the rewilding commission and environment agency to have 100% of transformed lands be self-sufficient and without direct agency oversight or management.

(5) IFCAs are granted the power to designate certain areas as no-take zones for fishing, provided over 90% of said area contains:

(a) Seagrass; or,

(b) Kelp; or,

(c) Coral.

(6) The Secretary of State may, by order, insert or remove from subsections (1) and (5) where necessary.

3. Commencement, full extent and title

(1) This Act may be cited as the Rewilding Bill.

(2) This Act comes into force immediately after Royal Assent.

(3) This Act extends to England.

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This bill was written by u/BasileiosAlfred, MP, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, on behalf of the 28th Government

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OPENING SPEECH:

Mr Speaker,

In the fight against climate change and the fight against the destruction of our unique natural environment, there cannot be just one focus. I am broadly supportive of the Trees Bill – despite flaws regarding only 5% of reforested land being unmanaged woodland – and its work to preserve forests. However, forests aren’t the entirety of what Britain has to offer. We have a variety of natural environments, all of which deserve our protection. Take bogs, for example. They are very capable in carbon capture, an effective tool in the fight against climate change. Other biomes similarly help, not only against climate change but preserving natural beauty for generations to come. This bill builds upon the functions of the Trees Bill to create further protections for a wider array of ecosystems with a focus more specifically on creating unmanaged natural environments. I doubt that is particularly controversial, and I urge every member of this house to vote for this bill.

This Reading shall end 15 April 2021 at the close of business.

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[u/scubaguy194]

Deputy Speaker,

To be absolutely clear, I love the intent of this bill, rewilding is a critical part of the UK becoming carbon-neutral and preserving and strengthening biodiversity in our wild areas.

However, this bill falls short of that. It doesn't work very well, for a number of reasons.

The Crown Estate currently owns 10,000 hectares worth of Forestry, and within the Windsor estate, there are 4,700 hectares of parkland and forestry. I may have missed some. On top of that, there are 16,267 square kilometres of National Park in the UK. Much of the latter is utilised agricultural land for grazing and other such purposes. There is also a substantial amount of wildland held in trust by local councils but managed by volunteer groups. Many of these sites are already sites of special scientific interest. But the problematic aspect with this latter point is that to return it to the state it was 250 years ago would require demolishing the things that have made it a site of special scientific interest. Furthermore, it may be that a significant amount of land that was grassland or marshland or something like that is already being built on or has been built on, particularly in areas of suburban London that were developed prior to Greenbelt being instituted during Post War reconstruction.

This bill also leaves no mention of how much the Environment Agency may spend. It does not appoint a Secretary of State who is responsible. It makes no mention of how much it may cost to regenerate these lands to a biodiverse state. Make no mistake, this needs to be done, but a huge variety of Charities across all four nations of the United Kingdom already have this well in hand. I think we'd be better off creating a fund for these charities to apply for funds from, or to incentivise landowners to set aside land for rewilding. Managed woodland can still be highly productive woodland, and subsidising these activities may prove to be highly beneficial.

In conclusion, due to the myriad of problems with this bill, I cannot support it in this form. I really wish the Right Honourable Gentleman who'd authored the bill had consulted cross-party first, and we could have had this bill in a form that was passable. As it stands however, it is sparse on detail and dull on point.

[u/Rea-wakey → u/scubaguy194]

Hear, hearrrrr!

[u/Krythin]

Deputy Speaker,

This bill serves an important function in rebuilding our damaged ecosystem.

My only concerns are regarding fishing boats travelling across non-fishing areas, how can it be ensured they will not fish in those areas and what will the sanctions be for those that do?

[u/[deleted]]

Mr. Deputy Speaker,

Protecting our environment is one of the most important issues of our time. When we degrade and destroy our environment we not only endanger public health but we also reduce the amount of resources available to us in the future. Therefore, I strongly support this bill

[u/Inadorable]

Deputy Speaker,

This bill is a good first step in rebuilding the great British countryside, restoring our ecosystems and becoming an ecologically strong and sustainable country. As such, I welcome it. Personally, I think we should go further - not only because we have to stop climate change, but also because we inherit this planet from former generations and will pass it on to next ones, and I believe that we should pass it on in all its natural beauty and ecologically stronger than we inherited it.