Well Rounded View
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Scotland’s Natural Wealth – achieving sustainable growth by investing in the environment
by Stuart Housden OBE, Director, RSPB Scotland
How do we value the environment – natural wealth or collateral damage?
The present global financial crisis has thrown everything up in the air in terms of what we value and what we can rely on as indicators of economic stability. Banking institutions and global corporations that seemed relatively impervious to market fluctuations are, as it turns out, more fragile and susceptible to change than we thought. If we want to see a silver lining in this darkest of clouds, we might examine how we measure a country’s wealth – does GDP really reflect how well-off and how happy we really are? Does our pursuit of economic growth through the traditional model really work in the long term, or can we use the current crisis to learn lessons about what truly makes for a sustainable economy?
The ripples caused by a recession are many, and the costs are huge. The risk now is that we try to revert to normal practice and see the environment as collateral damage. Indeed, recent EU talks on climate change have seen pressure from some countries to water down commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the basis that we can’t afford to worry about the environment at the moment. Surely, the Stern Report on climate change showed quite the opposite.
The same goes for how we develop our cities and manage our countryside. A bit of lateral thinking about regeneration and planning can make our country more robust in the face of future uncertainty, and deliver multiple socio-economic benefits to people whilst also safeguarding our natural resources.
In recent years we have begun to break the link between economic development and environmental damage. Now surely we must go much further. We must see environmental investment as a catalyst for economic development and include sustainable places in our future planning. RSPB Scotland launched a report last summer called ‘Nature and Sustainable Growth: Investing in Scotland’s Natural Heritage’ which looked at how a new approach to development has been achieved in places across Europe. In projects in Denmark, Norway, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands; and closer to home in North England and South Wales, the emphasis has been on moving towards the provision of ‘green infrastructure’. This supports economic regeneration by attracting inward investment, improving land values and attracting visitors to those places that are rich in wildlife and are pleasant places to live and work.
Physical wellbeing and life expectancy are being increasingly linked to access to a high quality natural environment. In addition, incorporating natural habitats can help with flood alleviation, reduce pollution and help us adapt to climate change. Already, Scotland’s natural landscapes and wildlife provide the resources and the backdrop for a number of our industries including food, drink and tourism. Investment in Scotland’s natural assets makes both environmental and economic sense.
The pioneering work already carried out highlights some elements which are key to successful projects. Identifying opportunities early on in economic regeneration and developments plans increases the likelihood that inward investment will occur; involving the community helps create a sense of ownership and pride, which leads to dynamism and economic spin-offs; working on a landscape scale delivers more benefits and allows for different uses; longer-term investment in ecosystems leads to them becoming self-supporting; and delivering through partnership draws on a wider pool of expertise and is more likely to lead to success.
As an organisation which manages both urban fringe and rural land across Scotland, RSPB has been increasingly moving towards this approach. For instance, in the Dearne Valley in South Yorkshire, an area blighted by its image as a run-down former mining area, we have been leading a programme of environmental restoration and improvement in partnership with local development agencies. Focused on the 75 hectare RSPB Old Moor nature reserve and a network of linked sites, the creation of wildlife-rich habitats and visitor facilities has attracted leisure and tourism spend to the area, created facilities much-used by local people, boosted the appeal of the area for business and even increased local house values.
RSPB has also been involved in similar projects in the Thames Gateway regeneration initiative with Rainham Marshes reserve and in South Wales with the Newport Wetlands project. From a rural perspective, we have been carrying out landscape-scale habitat restoration projects in the Flow Country in north Scotland and at Abernethy Forest in the Cairngorms. However, what Scotland still lacks are the kind of urban regeneration projects mentioned previously, and there is a real danger that we will fall behind the rest of Europe if we do not ‘grasp the thistle’. There is plenty of scope for this in the central belt particularly. The Scottish Government plans for the 2014 Commonwealth Games to leave a lasting legacy to be enjoyed by future generations of Scots – and our hope is that it can incorporate green networks and special places for people to live and work in.
In other cities across the country, as well as other wild areas, there is potential for partnership working to deliver a more sustainable approach to future planning. It is for this reason that RSPB Scotland is organising a conference at the Glasgow Science Centre on 2 February 2009 entitled “Scotland’s Natural Wealth: Achieving sustainable growth by investing in the environment.” A range of speakers will discuss how we can work towards a more sustainable future for Scotland. This includes our keynote speaker, The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth John Swinney MSP. There will also be a range of workshops and a drinks reception to allow delegates to network. Further details of this event are available below and the intention is to kick-start the kind of cross-sectoral partnerships which are necessary to bring about this new approach. We are delighted that Tods Murray are joining with us to sponsor this conference and I hope you will join us there.
Stuart Housden OBE
Director, RSPB Scotland
View Stuart Housden’s Biography
View RSPB website
View details of the Tods Murray Environmental Team
View details of the Tods Murray Rural Property & Business Team
View details of the Tods Murray Social Housing & Regeneration Team