The National Trust will develop new ways of managing land as it seeks to address the impacts of climate change on its operations, it said today.
Describing climate change as the single biggest threat to its land and properties, the trust said announced that it is joining forces with businesses, other charities, the government and local communities to improve the quality of its land and reverse the nation’s decline in wildlife.
The trust, which manages 250,000 hectare, including over 1,000 kilometres of coastline, says the countryside had been damaged by decades of unsustainable land management. It warns that climate change will add to the damage done by intensive farming to undermine the long-term health of the land.
The trust said it would challenge itself to develop innovative ways of managing land on a large scale, ensuring it benefitted for farmers, the economy and the environment. These include landscape-scale partnerships, developing new ways to fund the maintenance and improvement of natural ecosystem services, and new models to fund and manage green spaces.
The organisation also pledged to continue with its ambition to cut energy use by 20% by 2020 and source 50% of its power from renewable sources on its own land.
National Trust chairman Tim Parker said: “We can’t solve these issues on our own. Our strategy will see us working more collaboratively with a range of partners to explore new approaches and find new solutions. We will support where we can and lead where we should.”
