Dr Tony Whitbread, Chief Executive of the Sussex Wildlife Trust has written to the The Secretary of State for the Environment Owen Paterson MP inviting him to Sussex to gain a fuller understanding of ancient woodlands and why they are so important.
His invitation was sparked by biodiversity offsetting discussions before the last election now becoming a major element of the Natural Environment White Paper. In a recent blog, Dr Whitbread agreed biodiversity offsetting was a good idea in concept but could be open to abuse and warned of the dangers to irreplaceable habitats. He concluded that the whole idea of trading nature may simply be wrong and that Mr Paterson seems to be using it simply as a method of unlocking destructive development.
In his blog he explained……
‘Biodiversity offsetting should not turn an unacceptable development into an acceptable one; irreplaceable habitats should not be lost in the hope that a poor copy might be built somewhere else, and this should not just become a licence to trash.
‘Ancient woodlands are some of our most cherished, irreplaceable habitats. They are at least 400 years old; indeed many may date back to the Ice Age. They are living ancient monuments, stores of historical information and homes to plants and animals that simply won’t flourishif you plant a copy somewhere else. Yet Mr Paterson considers that all this can be ignored if you plant enough new trees in compensation.’
Image by Miles Davies