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The
NaturePark UK Education Talk 12.02.2011:
Please note that certain images
have been removed in order to avoid copyright
conflicts.
Feel free to use parts of the
presentation for educational purposes.
My name is Jens Stahlschmidt, I am a doctor and hold a PhD
in medicine,
grew up with traditional agroforestry in middle
Germany.
Sponsors are also listed on the website.
Where does the Naturepark UK concept arise from?
Lets look at some background for nature, planet
earth and mankind itself
in crises.
In no specific order.
We have basically managed to destroy nearly 50% of
the land surface of planet earth, quite an
achievement.
This is a summary of a 2010 publication.
It was never claimed that one should just let tigers
and pandas become extinct.
The concern was that
if the focus remains on animals and not on habitat
then all efforts are futile.
There are just too many humans, and they are getting
more and more.
Changes to
farming and curbing some of the most resource
intense foods must inevitably include not wasting
70% of plant based food energy to create meat.
Whilst more and more international bodies agree that
conservation and agricultural practices
need to change, DEFRA had some awareness of crises
at least already in 2006.
More a funeral
ovation than a celebration…
We worry about Panda.
We got rid of the Brown Bear.
We are concerned about Tigers.
We wiped out our Lynx.
What
is this?
Arabian Oryx, was extinct in the wild, now
re-introduced but under threat due to loss of
habitat and poaching.
We dispatched him,
European Moose, also called Elk.
African Wild Dog, hated by
farmers and suffering from loss of habitat.
No need to introduce him...
One can apply this principle world wide
to various scenarios. Since locally there are more
farmers experiencing fox damage one could also call
it…
Dehesa: Traditional loosely spaced cork oak forest,
habitat for many wild fowl, rabbits and the Iberian
Lynx.
The cork market is kaput, the trees are of no value
and get chopped down for timber and firewood, the
Iberian lynx is threatened by extinction.
Just to lighten the mood.
Heck Cattle, retro bread Auerox, extinct worldwide,
in Britain ca.1400 AD, ancestor of modern cattle and
originally a grassland dweller.
Wisent, extinct in Britain since ca.1400h AD,
originally a forest dweller. Hunted and loss of
habitat.
Przewalski horse, last
remaining true wild horse. Extinct as the Tarpan in
Britain 7000 BC, eaten.
Beaver, extinct in Britain, re-introduced around the
end of the 19th
century, again extinct but now re-introduced
in Scotland and in Devon.
Without addressing the fox
effect there is no chance for these two to ever make
it back to Britain.
Mufflon, not native to Britain,
the ancestor of all domestic sheep. None around in
the wild in Britain but might be of interest
as an alternative to traditional sheep husbandry.
Wild boar, extinct twice in Britain, now back but
classed by DEFRA as an alien species???
What does all this have to do with Naturepark UK? –
Well we destroyed
our natural heritage, we patronise developing
countries to do things differently but we don’t lead
by example.
Unless we change our working practices, finding ways
to integrate formerly extinct animals with
productive agriculture and forestry, conservation is
doomed world wide.
So why agroforestry?
There is good evidence from
China that tree spacing of 20 meters is most
beneficial in enhancing the microclimate of
interspaced field stripes thus improving
productivity.
After about ten years this
effect is reversed due to a reduction of sun light
from foliage cover, hence the change to pasturing
after ten years.
Whatever tree use yields the
highest return will be utilised.
On expansion of the project area the scope for
integrating formerly native to Britain animal
species into the project improves.
In combining agroforestry and biodiversity research
this study is unique to the UK and indeed world
wide!
The costing includes wages for
a project manager as well as the cost of
administrative support for the first year. It is
anticipated that after the first year the study will
produce enough revenue to be self funding.
This is the only body of authority in Britain for
agroforestry, endorsed by Prince Charles and David
Attenborough.
Any questions?
Even though the future for conservation looks
gloomy, unless we learn to change fast! Please don’t
take life too serious! |
