Almost two thirds of people in Britain want the UK Government to invest more in restoring nature to help protect the country from floods, droughts, wildfires and extreme heat.
New YouGov polling commissioned by Rewilding Britain found 62% want greater investment, while 74% believe the government is not preparing the country well for future extreme weather.
Just 15% of those surveyed believe enough is already being invested in nature to address the threat, while only 3% want investment reduced.
Rewilding Britain is using the findings to support its call for large scale nature recovery to become a central part of the country’s preparations for a changing climate.
The organisation wants Prime Minister Andy Burnham to establish a Climate Shock Fund which would invest in natural approaches to protecting communities and landscapes.
Those measures could include restoring peatlands, creating woodlands containing less flammable native trees, restoring ponds and floodplains and allowing rivers to return to more natural courses.
Beavers also feature in the proposals because their dams and wetlands can hold water within landscapes and alter the way it moves during periods of heavy rainfall or drought.
Kevin Cumming, Rewilding Director at Rewilding Britain, said:
“Healthy ecosystems retain water where it should be in Britain’s landscapes, helping to protect homes, communities and wildlife from wildfires, droughts, flooding, and record-breaking heat.
“The message from the public is clear.
“People want to see more investment by the government in nature restoration, to help Britain prepare for and withstand the increasing threat of extreme weather events.”
Rewilding Britain says natural grazing by cattle and other herbivores can also reduce the amount of vegetation available to fuel fires, particularly where restoring wetter conditions is not possible.
Trees and other green spaces can meanwhile provide shade and cooling during periods of extreme heat.
The campaign comes amid a wider debate over how Britain’s countryside should be managed as the threat from extreme weather increases.
Rewilding Britain argues that restoring wetlands and peatlands can help keep water in the landscape and create natural barriers to the spread of fire.
It also says tackling wildfires cannot rely on landscape restoration alone, with greater public awareness needed to prevent fires starting and emergency services requiring sufficient resources to deal with longer fire seasons.
Rebecca Wrigley, Rewilding Britain’s chief executive, said:
“With high fire-risk days set to double by 2050, and flooding an increasing risk, we must move past finger-pointing.
“We must unite land managers, policy makers, and rural communities to protect and restore our landscapes.
“Rewilding can play a key role because large-scale nature restoration puts the water back into the landscape in the places where it’s meant to be.”
The organisation is now asking people to sign an open letter calling for greater investment in nature as part of Britain’s response to increasingly severe weather.
For the Highlands and Islands, where peatlands, forestry, farming, flooding and wildfire risk are already closely connected to how the landscape is managed, the argument over what happens next is unlikely to remain an abstract one.
For details about Rewilding Britain’s Rewild to Recover campaign and open letter to the Prime Minister, visit rewildingbritain.org.uk
