Protection of nature is a key component of sustainability, but all too often we forget its other essential elements (How ambitious ‘forest city’ plan for England could become a reality, 23 November).
Promoters of a so-called “forest city” in east Cambridgeshire’s countryside ignore the fact that building across 18,000 hectares (45,000 acres) – as well as setting aside 4,800 hectares (12,000 acres) for a new forest – would destroy some of England’s most productive and scarce grade 2 farmland.
Our food security is already under acute threat – we produce little more than half the food we need, while even more of Europe’s breadbasket in Ukraine is now threatened with Russian control.
Sustainable development is complex and involves balancing land uses. Farming certainly needs to be more nature-friendly, but even modern arable land supports significant amounts of soil flora and fauna, and farmland birds. Sealing a vast area of soil and creating high levels of air, noise and light pollution next to newly planted forestry would undermine any contribution to nature.
Jon Reeds
Smart Growth UK
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