About us
Future Countryside is a project set up by the Shadow Environment Secretary, Nick Herbert MP, to promote new ideas for conserving the natural environment.
Climate change, development and the over-exploitation of natural resources present real challenges over how we will manage the countryside and enhance biodiversity in future. But with these new demands comes the opportunity for new thinking.
The aim of Future Countryside is to assess the whole range of issues that will affect the future of agriculture, wildlife and the countryside in the 21st Century. We will explore the role of regulation; the potential for new market-led solutions to promote conservation, and how to achieve a sustainable countryside against the backdrop of environmental change and growing pressure on public resources.
Future Countryside does not solicit party political support. We are seeking to engage informed expert views from across the political spectrum. This is your opportunity to join the debate.
Have your say...
All articles are open to comments - please register and then contribute to the debate.
If you would like to write a piece to be considered for publication, please email info@futurecountryside.com
Nick Herbert is the Shadow Environment Secretary. He has been the MP for Arundel & South Downs since May 2005. In July 2007 he was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, and in January 2009 he was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Prior to his election Nick was the Director of Reform, the independent think tank which he co-founded in 2002 and from 1990 to 1996 he worked for the British Field Sports Society, becoming its Director of Political Affairs. In this role he played a leading role in setting up the Countryside Movement, which became the Countryside Alliance.
Beyond Carbon is providing independent science, technology and policy advice to Future Countryside and to Nick Herbert MP. Beyond Carbon was founded by Richard Burge - the former chief executive of the Countryside Alliance and director General of the Zoological Society of London. It works with the private sector to assess environmental impacts risk and dependencies. It has undertaken extensive work on the commercial relevance of ecosystem services, the measurement of environmental impacts, and the use of markets to reduce the use of natural resources to sustainable levels.
