The NaturePark UK Concept:

In the spirit of 2010 as the year of biodiversity the key component of the concept is to allow for animal and plant species diversity to be maintained and furthered based on project profitability, hence long term sustainability and crisis resistance.

Naturepark UK aims to be the umbrella organisation, ensuring the core principles of maintaining and furthering species diversity, whilst sub-companies utilise the land and its produce in a sustainable manner. The sub-companies are to cover economic activities as far ranging as forestry, agriculture, tourism, natural burial site, bio fuel production, nature conservation projects, research, carbon offset and others.

Background:

Traditionally the conservation of nature and the preservation of species are looked at, as Simon Barnes puts it in his book "How to be Wild", as "the right thing to do". This concept, whilst ethically sound, has a major flaw: it is entirely dependent on dispensable wealth, since the only streams of income for conservation projects consist of research grants, tourism and sponsorship.

For nature to be preserved in a sustainable way nature needs to pay its keep, hence any conservation project in its entirety must be profitable. Consequently the yardstick for conservation has to be shifted from "the right thing to do" to "species diversity". Aiming to maintain or further species diversity whilst simultaneously achieving profits and prosperity will ensure project sustainability.

A big drawback of such a concept is that the rate of change in an environment managed for profit is faster than in a “natural environment”. Trees are planted and harvested, bled for their juices or coppiced. These activities change the local environment faster than the natural cycle. Yet nature changes as well.

With the human world population expected to reach 9 billion by 2040 mounting pressures on natural resources are to be expected. The question might arise to decide between a managed woodland or no woodland at all since a “not profitable” ancient woodland is likely to fall prey to a profitable conversion into arable land for field crops.

Our Responsibilities towards the Developing World:

Another firm argument for a project like Naturepark UK rests with the relationship the United Kingdom, as a developed, industrialized country, has with the developing world. After all we eradicated many of our naturally occurring wildlife, especially the larger predators (like wolves, bears, lynx, etc.) and herbivores (like wisent and elk) a long time ago, yet we expect developing countries to preserve their wildlife and conserve their environmental heritage. We watch with shock and horror reports about deforestation, with images of barren hill tops and soil erosion, in the developing world. But on our doorstep we declare the same type of destroyed areas as national parks, keep them locked in an environmentally impoverished state by ongoing overgrazing, and resist suggestions of re-forestation in order to preserve our "natural" heritage. Cumbria, the Yorkshire Dales and Moors, the Scottish Highlands, etc.; they all used to be covered in woodland.

The human population explosion, mainly happening in the developing world, and overpopulation of planet earth are realistic threats, but we still have to acknowledge that most developing countries are just catching up with the developed world in respect of population density and standard of living.

Is it not an act of hypocrisy to expect others to do what we failed to do whilst simultaneously not showing any willingness to lead by example?

Please remember: A concept of allowing for faster than natural change of the environment in order to utilise profits by which nature pays for its keep, monitored for sustainability by a not for profit organisation, forms a novel approach to allow for a diverse, profitable and sustainable use of natural resources. This concept would render the project in its entirety crises resistant since different economical legs would provide overall project safety even in times of economic downturn and hardship.

If you feel that this project is worth supporting then please tell all your friends and family about it. Forward the Naturepark UK website details to them and ask them to make this site their Amazon purchase home page in order to give their support.