Defra publishes action plan for natural environment
Defra has today published an action plan setting out a new direction for Government policy on the natural environment.
The Ecosystems Approach Action Plan signals a move away from separate natural environment policies on wildlife, water, soil, air quality towards a more joined-up approach, taking account of the natural environment as a whole.
Central to the Action Plan is the idea that living things and their physical environment depend on each other – changes in one part of our environment can have consequences, positive and negative, on another.
Minister for Climate Change, Biodiversity and Waste, Joan Ruddock said:
“This new approach highlights the link between environmental, social and economic wellbeing. We have achieved improvements in air and water quality, halted the decline in farmland birds and improved the condition of many of our nationally important wildlife sites, but there are still many pressures on the natural environment.”
This new approach also seeks to ensure that the full range of benefits that a healthy natural environment provides – ‘ecosystem services’ – are fully recognised in policy and decision-making in Defra and across Government. This highlights the fact that the environment supports economic and social development.
To guide policy-makers and economists in valuing these environmental benefits, Defra has produced an Introductory Guide to Valuing Ecosystem Services.
Further information
Ecosystems Approach Action Plan and Guide to Valuing Ecosystem Services
Page published: 11 December 2007