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The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
For anyone interested the report can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...economics-of-biodiversity-the-dasgupta-review

I'm working my way through it's 600 pages but already think they are pretty well spot on.

"Whether as farmers or fishers, foresters or miners, households or companies, governments or communities, we manage the assets to which we have access, in line with our motivations as best as we can. But the best each of us is able to achieve with our portfolios may nevertheless result in a massive collective failure to manage the global portfolio of all our assets. The analogy of each of a crowd of people trying to keep balance on a hanging bridge and bringing it crashing down speaks to that possibility."

"It would seem then that, ultimately, we each have to serve as judge and jury for our own actions. And that cannot happen unless we develop an affection for Nature and its processes. As that affection can flourish only if we each develop an appreciation of Nature’s workings, the Review ends with a plea that our education systems should introduce Nature studies from the earliest stages of our lives, and revisit them in the years we spend in secondary and tertiary education. The conclusion we should draw from this is unmistakable: if we care about our common future and the common future of our descendants, we should all in part be naturalists."
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
The choices are hard, they involve a lot more than a tax here and a set of regulations there. Unlike the economics of climate change, at least as it is currently presented, the economics of biodiversity we construct in this Review requires not only national and intergovernmental engagement, but engagement by communities and civil societies throughout the world. The economics we construct here is neither entirely top-down nor entirely bottom up; it is also lateral. It advocates institutions that encourage information and directives to flow in every direction. Above all, it calls for changes in our sensibilities, because the silence and invisibility of Nature make it utterly vulnerable to our activities, which neither communities nor states can wholly address. Those changes can be realised only when our sensibilities toward Nature are acquired from the earliest stages of our lives. And that is all the more reason we citizens need to attend to them.
 

N.Yorks.

Member
Should mention there are 3 versions of the report:
1) Full version
2) Abridged version
3) Headline message

Just skimmed through the short third option and it's a good explanation as to what is driving Natural Capital (aka Ecosystem Services) thinking and the ELMS policy.

Thanks @holwellcourtfarm good post.......
 
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Yale

Member
Livestock Farmer
Slight digression however having seen the TV ad,I googled this and it’s an astonishing development.

Not sure ultimately how environmentally friendly it will be.



 

thesilentone

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cumbria
Fishing is the one that intrigues me. Why do we send fishing boats and trawlers off-shore to purge the oceans, when the solution must be fish farming or a balance of each ?

Or, why not build on-shore lagoons fed by natural resources (the sea) ?

You would not need allot of digging in areas like The Wash to create these environments, these could also become wetlands and wildlife sanctuary's.
 

N.Yorks.

Member
Page 5 of the short version:

"The discipline to draw on Nature sustainably must, ultimately, be provided by us as individuals. But societal change – particularly growing urbanisation – has meant that many people have grown distant from Nature. Interventions to enable people to understand and connect with Nature would not only improve our health and well-being, but also help empower citizens to make informed choices and demand the change that is needed; for example by insisting that financiers invest our money sustainably and that firms disclose environmental conditions along their supply chains, and even boycotting products that do not meet certain standards. Establishing the natural world in education policy is therefore essential. The development and design of environmental education programmes can help to achieve tangible impact, for example by focusing on local issues, and collaborating with scientists and community organisations."

My comment: - Detachment from understanding food production and undervaluing the benefit of rural land use means many see food as having to be cheap - as a human one of the most important things is the quality of diet. It should be properly valued.

As farmers it is not our job to feed as many humans as possible as cheaply as possible because that ultimately costs us in the future.
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Page 5 of the short version:

"The discipline to draw on Nature sustainably must, ultimately, be provided by us as individuals. But societal change – particularly growing urbanisation – has meant that many people have grown distant from Nature. Interventions to enable people to understand and connect with Nature would not only improve our health and well-being, but also help empower citizens to make informed choices and demand the change that is needed; for example by insisting that financiers invest our money sustainably and that firms disclose environmental conditions along their supply chains, and even boycotting products that do not meet certain standards. Establishing the natural world in education policy is therefore essential. The development and design of environmental education programmes can help to achieve tangible impact, for example by focusing on local issues, and collaborating with scientists and community organisations."

My comment: - Detachment from understanding food production and undervaluing the benefit of rural land use means many see food as having to be cheap - as a human one of the most important things is the quality of diet. It should be properly valued.
I noted that line as well. It's partly why the report advocates a sea change in our education system to include personal environmental impact teaching from reception onwards.
 

N.Yorks.

Member
I noted that line as well. It's partly why the report advocates a sea change in our education system to include personal environmental impact teaching from reception onwards.

Whenever I talk to non farmers about these types of things they are so surprised how we've arrived at where we are. They just don't know...... I agree it should start from Reception and be a central part of a childs education.
 

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
Fishing is the one that intrigues me. Why do we send fishing boats and trawlers off-shore to purge the oceans, when the solution must be fish farming or a balance of each ?

Or, why not build on-shore lagoons fed by natural resources (the sea) ?

You would not need allot of digging in areas like The Wash to create these environments, these could also become wetlands and wildlife sanctuary's.

disease (and the treatment of ) i think imright in saying, has always been the issue, disease being spread from intensively / artificially kept/farmed fish
 

thesilentone

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cumbria
disease (and the treatment of ) i think imright in saying, has always been the issue, disease being spread from intensively / artificially kept/farmed fish

I agree, fish farming has that issue, however it is already a massive Industry globally and improving. Surely with the huge increases in population fish farming is the only sustainable solution ?
 

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
I agree, fish farming has that issue, however it is already a massive Industry globally and improving. Surely with the huge increases in population fish farming is the only sustainable solution ?
inland maybe but the other issue is that fish ,although good converters (and a good source of protein for us) need Hipro food themselves and for them large numbers / like in bulk......and like Soya...:bag:

not that i know much about the subject tbh.

Although i guess they could be fed mass produced ground down insects but then so could we for that matter :unsure:
 

delilah

Member
I noted that line as well. It's partly why the report advocates a sea change in our education system to include personal environmental impact teaching from reception onwards.

Does anyone know what % of the ELMS pot has been earmarked for education visits to farms ? I would say it should be 10%, though I imagine it will be closer to 1% ?
 

thesilentone

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cumbria
inland maybe but the other issue is that fish ,although good converters (and a good source of protein for us) need Hipro food themselves and for them large numbers / like in bulk......and like Soya...:bag:

not that i know much about the subject tbh.

Although i guess they could be fed mass produced ground down insects but then so could we for that matter :unsure:


Interesting website: https://www.biomar.com/en/uk/

 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Interesting website: https://www.biomar.com/en/uk/

The National Fisherman's Organisation is hoping mad at the governments proposal to ban bottom trawling on Dogger Bank and other areas now we are out of the EU fisheries regime despite evidence of the damage it does.

Something has to change in our attitude to fish management.
 

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
Interesting website: https://www.biomar.com/en/uk/

but i cant see the actual ingredients list anywhere on there?
:unsure:

bit the same as when the feed mill gives a sort of generic ticket with ingredients listed but not quite all you want to know....
 

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Webinar: Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer 2024 -26th Sept

  • 2,500
  • 50
On Thursday 26th September, we’re holding a webinar for farmers to go through the guidance, actions and detail for the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer. This was planned for end of May, but had to be delayed due to the general election. We apologise about that.

Farming and Countryside Programme Director, Janet Hughes will be joined by policy leads working on SFI, and colleagues from the Rural Payment Agency and Catchment Sensitive Farming.

This webinar will be...
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