Land (Chap 6)
Land Research
Land is our most valuable asset, worth £5.4 trillion (just over £22 per square metre, on average).
"That monetary valuation reflects land’s finite nature and the nation’s relatively high wealth and population density. Of all the world’s developed or emerging states, England is now the most densely populated...Our economy also depends heavily on land overseas with UK’s global land footprint — the total land use associated with our own consumption, minus exports — estimated at 5.6 times the UK’s own surface area. 70% of the land in our food footprint is abroad according to Royal Society ReportWho own England's grouse moors?
The Spectator describes these estates as "economic deserts without parallel. "
"In April 2016 the European Commission took the first steps in legal infraction against the UK government in relation to the burning of blanket bog in Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in all of northern England, saying our government had not carried out a risk assessment as required by the Habitats Directive". (Stanley Johnson - father of Boris and Jo - made this Directive happen). In 2017, the EC sent a final warning.
I wonder what has happened to that?
The highest bidder The Highest Bidder Takes It All: The World Bank’s Scheme to Privatize the Commons details how the Bank’s prescribes reforms, via a new land indicator in the Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) project, promotes large-scale land acquisitions and the expansion of agribusinesses in the developing world.
Climate Change Committee says changes in land use must happen: "Change provides the opportunity to maximise the use of land as a natural store for carbon and as a regulator of natural hazards such as flooding....This includes increased tree planting, improved forest management, restoration of peatlands, and shifts to low-carbon farming practices, which improve soil and water quality. "