Our missing rainforests

Like much of the rest of the world, I've been frightened and angry by the scale of the fires in the Amazon rainforest, and the unwillingness of Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, to react to them as a global emergency. That being said, I think it is a useful exercise for those of us on the left to consider whether there is a grain of truth in his response. Though his motivations may be money and power, I don't think he's out of order when, addressing the UN General Assembly yesterday, he accused the international backlash against him of being a form of colonialism. While I fervently disagree with Bolsonaro that nations have no responsibility to the rest of the world when it comes to managing their land and natural resources - and I don't believe that the majority of the international community is seeking to get involved out of a desire to take the Amazon's resources for themselves - it is hypocritical of many of us to express such vitriol over the deforestation of the Amazon when our own nations have over the course of centuries ransacked and all but erased the natural resources closer to home. Stepping back, I can see shades of the 'White Savior' complex. However, that should not stop the international community from using diplomatic and economic tools to ensure a vital global resource is protected.

All of this had been on my mind when up popped a Guardian article by George Monbiot. I'm currently (very slowly) reading his book Feral, and I'm sure I'll publish a review of that when I'm done, but this article summarises some of its key points very well, and with reference to the current headlines about the Amazon. To quote Monbiot:

"We rightly call on other nations to protect their stunning places. But where are our rainforests? I mean this both metaphorically and literally. Out of 218 nations, the UK ranks 189th for the intactness of its living systems. Having trashed our own wildlife, our excessive demand for meat, animal feed, timber, minerals and fossil fuels helps lay waste the rest of the world."

He goes on to lament the state of biodiversity in the UK's national parks and the lack of political action on matters of conservation. While there are serious problems all over the world, I don't think they're as separate as all that. Preservation of and access to wild places touches on public health, climate change, environmental justice and many other issues. I want to focus more on rewilding and reforesting in the UK, where I live, partly because I have a much bigger stake in what happens close to home than half way around the world, but also because we are so bereft of nature here that I want to help change it.

Natural Health Service

Land use, and particularly green space, in the UK is quickly becoming a major interest of mine. I'm often frustrated by the lack of 'natural' landscapes available to the public in this country, where so much green space is given over to agriculture, livestock grazing, military exercises and industrial forestry rather than just, you know, nature. Therefore, I was pleased to see on the Ordnance Survey blog that they're working with the NHS to assess the green spaces around NHS properties and residential areas as part of their Green Health Strategy.

As Julie Proctor of Greenpeace Scotland put it in the piece:

“Studies repeatedly show the positive impact that greenspace can have on our quality of life and particularly on health and wellbeing. Greenspace really is our natural health service: a daily dose of green space could be just what the doctor ordered to keep us active and provide tonic for the soul!"

I'm very happy to hear that there is high level recognition of how beneficial access to nature is for mental and physical well being. However, looking at the taxonomy they've used to assess land use for this project, I'm a little concerned that one of the categories is simply 'natural'. Other green spaces are categorised as 'park', 'allotment', 'golf', 'bowls' and 'play space', showing the diversity of managed recreational green spaces in urban environments, but the variety of natural green spaces is glossed over. Are they managed woodland, heath, or an impenetrable blackberry thicket by the side of a train line? Are they fenced off from the public by high fences, subject to a visitors fee, or can anyone visit? Disaggregating this data would go a long way to understanding what types of green spaces we have and who is likely to use them.

Acknowledging the benefits of nature to public health is a very good first step. Next we have to invest in publicly accessible and sustainable natural landscapes.