Defra consults on natural environment policy

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has begun consulting on issues and measures which could be key to the Government’s first environmental White Paper for 20 years. The department has promised to publish a Natural Environment White Paper in spring 2011.

Environment secretary Caroline Spelman said: “We have the opportunity to be the generation that puts a stop to the piecemeal degradation of our natural environment. We want to see a real positive change in the future of our natural environment – one which supports a stronger economy and better quality life.”

She added: “The economy and the natural environment have historically been pitted against each other as if they were competing choices, rather than being mutually interdependent. Reducing the deficit and ensuring the economic recovery are the Government’s top priorities but greater knowledge of the value provided by natural systems and the high costs associated with their degradation means that the economy and the environment cannot be separated.”