The Alliance’s most recently established Advocacy Group on rural heritage has made the case for a more integrated approach to our landscapes, promoting the position taken by the European Landscape Convention that any division between their natural and historic qualities is artificial. The Group’s response to the Government consultation on the Natural Environment White Paper goes on to recognise the importance of the Environmental Stewardship scheme in conserving the natural and historic environments for public benefit, confirming that its successful operation in England is noted and respected by the European Commission.
In framing the priorities for the UK’s role in EU and international action, the Advocacy Group recommends a re-orientation of policy in the next phase of the Common Agricultural Policy to allow a more holistic approach to landscape protection and management, recognising that farmed cultural landscapes are an important public good and that in general public money should be used for public goods.
Tags: 2010, Alliance, Common Agricultural Policy, heritage, Heritage Alliance, historic environment, Natural Environment White Paper, rural heritage