More than 5,000 farmers and land managers have now benefited from the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme, new figures have shown.
The programme, now in its third year, offers funding to farmers across AONBs and National Parks. Support for nature recovery and climate resilient businesses, heritage conservation and better access for people to enjoy our protected landscapes all feature in programme delivery. To date, £25 million has been allocated, and more than 2,400 projects have been approved for funding.
The new report – Farming in Protected Landscapes programme: Year 2 update – showcases projects across National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) which have benefited from the Defra funding. Examples include The Pollinator Project in North Wessex Downs AONB – a group of 20 farmers collaborating to improve the landscape for key pollinators and invertebrates; and Dalefoot Farm in the Yorkshire Dales, an area which includes SSSI designation, supporting nature recovery through the establishment of a network of hedgerows, riparian strips and trees that connect the existing ancient semi-natural woodland.
Neil Heseltine, NPE Chair and Chair of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said: “Our work across protected landscapes to help farmers and land owners engage with the FiPL programme shows how important partnership working and collaboration are to driving forward sustainable land management initiatives. As a farmer myself, I have seen the nature and biodiversity crisis that the country faces grows more acute. Whilst farming is often seen as one source of this crisis, it is only through harnessing farmers as partners in aspiration, that we will overcome it. The challenge is to inspire and reward farmers for delivering positive benefits for nature whilst running profitable businesses. It is therefore essential that the Government commit to embedding the principles of FiPL within the environmental land management offer beyond 2024.”
Tom Munro, Dorset AONB Manager and NAAONB Agriculture & Land Use Panel spokesperson added: “The huge successes of FIPL over the last two years has demonstrated how AONB teams are uniquely placed to facilitate on-farm projects to deliver for nature, climate, people and place across these treasured landscapes. While our pre-existing networks with farmers and advisers helped us hit the ground running, FIPL has helped us cement these relationships and to be regarded as trusted delivery bodies. These landscapes have been shaped by thousands of years of farming and it’s only by working like this at scale with farmers that we will adequately respond to the climate and ecological emergency while ensuring rural communities thrive underpinned by sustainable farm businesses.”
The report was launched today at a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for National Parks. Attendees heard from representatives from across protected landscapes and farming community about the importance of sustainability and land management to the future of these special places, and how farmers and other land managers play a vital role in shaping the landscapes they operate within to enhance the natural and cultural heritage, improve productivity, and create more vibrant, sustainable communities.
Find out more about Farming in Protected Landscapes in the Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org/managing/farming-in-protected-landscapes.