The Nature Manifesto What Nature does for Britain THE NATURE MANIFESTO sets out the proposals in What Nature does for Britain, the new book by Tony Juniper. They reflect how nature’s dividends underpin the UK economy, created by natural capital worth at least £1.5 trillion (ONS report, 2011), about the same as the current fiscal deficit. Backed by extensive case studies, expert views and a body of technical research, these manifesto proposals are offered to all parties in the forthcoming election. Their goal is to keep nature healthy and, in doing so, achieve practical benefits for Britain’s health, wealth and security. company investments and flood defence spending, so that all achieve maximum public benefit.
Overview – three key asks Because the practical and economic value of nature is often unclear, we fail to optimise what nature can do for us. This could be corrected through new framework legislation and by having stronger coordination between different policy areas – for example those relating to farming, water and flood management. The situation would be improved through comprehensive economic assessments and having these reflected in policy choices.
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Use British influence in the EU to press for new rules requiring all farm payments (not just a small proportion) to be optimised to achieve multiple benefits in relation to soil protection, flood risk reduction, wildlife conservation (including pollinators and pest predators), improved water quality, recreation and carbon capture.
Soil, agricultural and organic waste
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Soil is a national asset suffering serious damage because of how we farm and use land. Maintaining the capacity of soil to produce food while reducing some of the environmental impacts that come with this can be achieved through, among other things, capturing nutrients from sewage works and food waste.
Pass a Nature and Wellbeing Act with the overall aim of ‘restoring nature in a generation’. A core part of this new law will require local authorities to prepare maps of current and future ecological networks to deliver water, flood control, carbon, pollination, tourism and recreational benefits, thereby taking forward many of the following manifesto priorities. Such maps would also guide future farm payments.
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Set up a ministerial group between government departments to establish ways to make the best use of all money being invested in land and nature – including farm payments, conservation budgets, water
## Establish an official UK Soil Institute to monitor soil health and advise ministers across the UK on policies and decisions that affect soils.