NEW NATIONAL PARKS FOR GREAT BRITAIN

In an op-ed for The Telegraph, United Kingdom Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced a new review process which could result in creating new national parks in England.

Nearly 70 years after the creation of the first British national parks, Gove wrote that “the time is right” to consider creating new protected areas in the United Kingdom. As the human population grows and natural habitats decline, he wrote that the British people should “look afresh at these landscapes” and determine how best to preserve them for future generations.

Aware of concerns amidst an ongoing national policy of austerity, Gove emphasised that the review’s mission was not to cut the conservation of nature but to “strengthen it in the face of present-day challenges.”

The first national parks in the UK, the Peak District, Lake District, Snowdonia and Dartmoor, were founded in 1951. England currently has 10 national parks while Wales and Scotland host three and two, respectively. “The creation of national parks almost 70 years ago changed the way we view our precious landscapes — helping us all access and enjoy our natural world,” Gove wrote. “We want to make sure they are not only conserved but enhanced for the next generation.”

Gove has appointed former governor aide and journalist Julian Glover to lead the review process. “I want Julian explicitly to consider how we can extend and improve the protection we give to other precious landscapes,” Gove wrote. “Are we properly supporting all those who live in, work in, or want to visit these magnificent places? Should we indeed be extending our areas of designated land?”

Conservationists have praised Gove’s decision, though they say that more must be done. WWF campaigns director Tony Juniper told the BBC, “Nature will continue to be at risk unless we have a plan for its recovery enshrined in law — through a new Environment Act that’s backed by a strong watchdog with real power to enforce.”