National Nature Parks

Submitted by: 10 party members
Mover: Tim Farron MP (Spokesperson for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs)
Summation: Jess Brown-Fuller MP

Conference notes that:

1. The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and one of the least densely forested countries in Europe with only 14.5% of the country covered in woodland, compared to the European average of 35%.
2. The Office for Environmental Protection found that the actions of the Conservatives in government fell "far short" of what was required to leave the environment in a better state than they found it.
3. The Glover Review outlined that National Parks and National Landscapes (formerly Areas of Outstanding National Beauty) have not done enough to protect the natural environment.
4. One in six species are threatened with extinction from Britain.
5. A BBC investigation found that almost 32,000 public rights of way are obstructed, with the number of path blockages increasing year on year.

Conference believes that:

1. Everybody should be able to access a healthy environment; open green spaces, clean blue rivers and the beauty of Britain's coastlines.
2. We need our protected landscapes to lead the restoration of our natural environment.
3. Local authorities are key to unlocking the potential of protected landscapes for nature's recovery, including with community engagement.
4. We must support farmers, who have a vital role in tackling climate change and the nature crisis, to ensure they can contribute to the restoration of the countryside and produce high-quality food for our tables.

Conference reaffirms Liberal Democrat pledges to:

1. Create a new designation of National Nature Parks.
2. Work with existing National Parks and National Landscapes to improve their work to restore nature and transform them into National Nature Parks, with stronger duties on National Park Authorities to create and protect carbon sinks.
3. Plant 60 million trees a year to improve air quality, enrich public spaces and help us reach net-zero.
4. Strengthen the Office for Environmental Protection and provide more funding to the Environment Agency and Natural England to help protect our environment and enforce environmental laws.
5. Designate 16 new National Trails, thereby doubling the current total.
6. Empower Local Nature Recovery Strategies to identify a new Wild Belt for nature's recovery.
7. Work with our European neighbours to tackle the nature crisis, including applying to join the European Environment Agency (EEA).
8. Make sure that the UK has the highest environmental standards in the world.
9. Properly fund Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) and support farmers with the restoration of woodland, peatland and waterways, the creation of natural flood protections and the management of land to recover species and carbon storage, while producing food for the table.

Conference resolves to:

1. Create at least three new National Nature Parks to the existing 10 National Parks in England.
2. Provide the National Parks budget with an additional £50m a year to support new and existing National Parks to become National Nature Parks.
3. Ensure any new National Park has a clear duty to manage protected areas for nature's restoration.
4. Launch a consultation to determine which new areas should become National Nature Parks, giving natural landscapes priority for the shortlist.
5. Call on the government to provide funding to:
   1. Establish new walking routes, including routes through National Parks.
   2. Ensure local authorities can maintain existing walking routes.

Applicability: England; except G. (lines 46-48), which is Federal.

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Mover: 5 minutes; all other speakers: 3 minutes. For eligibility and procedure for speaking in this debate, see page 8 of the agenda. 

The deadline for amendments to this motion, see pages 10–11, and for requests for separate votes, see pages 7–8 of the agenda, is 09.00 Thursday 12 September. Those selected for debate will be printed in Conference Extra and Saturday’s Conference Daily.