Farming for the Nation – Test Trial

How ELM can use a fuller understanding of natural capital and ecosystem services to provide a step change for the biodiversity and heritage of the Lizard Peninsula whilst also delivering wider multiple benefits for local communities.

The National Landscapes Association offered the opportunity for protected landscapes to be used as ‘test beds’ for the new Defra schemes, examining a post Brexit mechanism to support farmers and landowners and demonstrate the added value a designation can bring.

About

Cornwall National Landscape was one of 12 protected landscapes to take part. We worked with farmers and land managers in Section 08 South Coast Western and specifically the Lizard Peninsula.

Aim

Examine how objectives can be set for the provision of public goods in a rural farming landscape whilst also demonstrating how farmers can work collaboratively to deliver the objectives of ELMs.

Project Overview

Project Overview

Due mainly to the large size of the Cornwall National Landscape and its disparate nature with 12 separate geographies, it would not be practical or feasible to produce the Management Plan to set out a detailed spatial plan for landscape and nature recovery for each section. It is instrumental in setting out the strategic direction and approach to agricultural land management for ecosystem services for the protected landscape. It can highlight, for each section, the special qualities to conserve and enhance and highlight specific opportunities for the delivery of public goods in each section, based on a critical understanding of that landscape. The Test Trial primarily delivered on Chapter 1 of the Government’s 25-year Environment Plan to improve the environment by utilising and managing land on the Lizard more effectively whilst ensuring farm businesses are sustainable.

Aims & Objectives

Aims & Objectives

The Cornwall National Landscape trial is part of a larger process being run by the National Association of National Landscapes called ‘Farming for the Nation’, and is one of 10 participating protected landscapes. Farming for the Nation had some broad objectives, which it will report on to Defra.

Aim

Establish a farmer cluster group in the project area and build good communication, knowledge, and collaboration so that the group can develop landscape-scale, public goods objectives.

Aim

Use the best available mapped and empirical data to understand the project area’s landscape and natural capital and use this to understand the opportunities and desired outcomes for natural capital and ecosystem services in the trial area.

Aim

Better understand and appreciate natural capital/ecosystem services opportunities in the landscape and the wider benefits to people.

Output

Landscape Management Framework

Output

Lizard Natural Capital Prospectus

Output

. Individual farm action plans for case study farms

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Benefits

Our Primary Purpose is to conserve and enhance Natural Beauty.

Our priority is to lead and support projects which deliver under these four key categories.

benefit to people

People

Example people benefit

benefit to place

Place

Example place benefit

benefit to nature

Nature

Example nature benefit

benefit to climate

Climate

Example climate benefit

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Project Detail

The trial on the Lizard was led by the Cornwall National Landscape and supported by Gain Consulting, The University of Exeter, and FWAG South West. The broad aim of the trial was to examine how the Future Schemes can use a fuller understanding of natural capital and ecosystem services to provide a step-change for the biodiversity and heritage of the Lizard Peninsula and deliver more comprehensive multiple benefits for local communities.

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Section 08 of the Cornwall AONB, ‘South Coast Western’ was identified as a valuable place to test how we set objectives for the provision of public goods in a rural farming landscape and how groups of farmers can be supported to deliver objectives collaboratively. The Lizard Peninsula is widely designated for its biodiversity and historic value. Large parts are covered by SSSI, Goonhilly National Nature Reserve sitting at its heart, and there are a very high number of Scheduled Monuments. The area has seen significant investment in land management advice, yet its heritage features and biodiversity are still in declining condition. The trial uses forward-thinking work carried out by the Cornwall National Landscape Partnership to map and describe natural capital and ecosystem services, enabling stakeholders to develop an ecosystem services recovery plan for the project area.

Information for Farmers & Landowners
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