Call to find markets for North’s natural habitats

The membership organisation is urging the Government to move quickly to find new ways to pay farmers and land managers who look after the North’s natural environment.

Following the launch of a report by the Ecosystem Market Task Force (EMTF), the association said that more conservation work is needed within the natural environment, and that the work should be funded by private money,

CLA North director of policy and public affairs Douglas Chalmers said: “The CLA is completely committed to finding market solutions to pay for conserving the natural environment. We must move away from relying on public money to pay for everything.”

He said he supported the EMTF ideas that private sector solutions should encourage the development of markets such as biodiversity offsetting and greater use of wood fuel but obstacles were blocking these markets.

Mr Chalmers added the report was right to note the limitations of using the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to fund environmental works as the CAP budget is “highly unlikely” to remain the same size over the long term. Meanwhile, rules underpinning the CAP only allow payments for environmental works to be made on potentially lost income, giving recipients little incentive to do anything but continue their existing activities, he said.