Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

22/12/2022 Fish stocks; Community Bus; Land sparing or land sharing?

Fishing quotas criticised by conservation groups. Community bus takes mobile food bank to villages. Which is best for nature and budgets - land sharing or land sparing?

Conservation groups have criticised next year's fishing quotas. The Government described this week's agreement with the EU on how much fish can be caught in UK waters as ‘a further £282 million in fishing opportunities’ and the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations were pleased that quotas had been increased after fish stocks improved - for instance cod is up 160 per cent. However some marine conservation groups, like Blue Marine, say scientific advice is being ignored and 28 per cent of fish stocks are still being over-fished.

During the pandemic, people in one village in Wiltshire set up a community group in a cafe, handing out food, offering help and friendship. When lockdown ended and the cafe needed its premises back, the volunteers moved to the village hall; when the village needed its hall back, they moved to the Scout hut; when the Scouts needed their hut back they decided they really needed a place of their own - and now they've got a new HQ, on a double decker bus. The charity - Positive Community Action will now take a mobile food bank and friendship cafe to rural areas.

A new study says it's more cost effective for farmers to concentrate food production on some land and dedicate other areas to wildlife and biodiversity. There's long been a debate as to which is the most effective - land sharing or land sparing. Land sharing is where farmers make space for nature alongside farming. Land sparing is where they farm some areas and leave other land solely for nature. Research from Cambridge, Glasgow and Leeds universities says its more cost effective to pay farmers to create woodland and wetlands on some land and concentrate food production elsewhere.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

13 minutes

Broadcast

  • Thu 22 Dec 2022 05:45

Podcast