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To
whom it may concern
The Knepp Estate and its surroundings.
For
the last ten years conservation has adopted
a target-led approach to conservation,
whereby we try to maintain particular
habitats and species in particular sites
through careful management – often based
on traditional farming and forestry
practice.
However there is increasing
discussion about taking a more hands-off
approach, of promoting wilderness and the
process of rewilding.
Rewilding
is not a precisely defined term, but has
come to be used to cover an approach whereby
conventional agricultural and forestry
management is reduced or withdrawn to
varying degrees.
The vegetation and associated fauna
would be allowed to respond to ‘natural
processes’ (recognising that human
influence can never be completely removed
under British conditions).
Rewilding/wilderness
can only ever be just one element of the way
that we do conservation in Britain and
particularly in England.
Many of our valued habitats, species
and landscapes do depend on active
management for their continued survival.
There is
however the potential for rewilded areas to
complement more traditional approaches to
conservation; they will develop different
suites of species, different habitats,
different landscape patterns.
In the process of their development
some of the current habitats and species may
be lost, but over time others will be gained
and experience elsewhere suggests that these
can be rich in wildlife and exciting places
to visit.
Some
might think that there is not the space for
this to happen, particularly not in the
lowlands, but the Knepp Castle Estate is
showing what can be done.
This is a unique project.
Natural England is supporting both
the practical work and the baseline
monitoring.
We will be watching with interest how
it develops.
A single
estate does not exist in isolation; it is
part of the wider biological, historical and
cultural landscape.
Therefore what happens in the
surroundings could affect the success or
otherwise of the Knepp Castle project.
The precise impact of the adjacent
proposal for landfill in the clay quarry is
unclear, but there are reasons for potential
concern in terms of possible
pollution effects.
It also represents a lost opportunity
to develop semi-natural habitats in the
quarry that could effectively extend the
‘Knepp’ area.
Keith
Kirby
Forestry
and Woodland Officer, Natural England,
Northminster House, Peterborough
0300 060
0459
07970
636919
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