‘We Urgently Need A Fresh, Positive And Practical Vision For The Countryside'

In his birthday message, The Prince of Wales applauds efforts to combat climate change and acknowledges the urgent need to explain the value of the food our farmers produce

AT a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty, it is perhaps worth reminding ourselves that the diversity of the British countryside which so many of us know and love is a wonderful synthesis of the interaction between geography, geology, biology and climate, moulded by the activity of thousands of years of human endeavour. Although the interactions between the landscape and those who make their livelihood from it have changed over time, the process has generally been one of gradual evolution. Now, the pace of change is accelerating rapidly. If we cannot find ways to respond effectively, we risk being overtaken by events and losing the capacity to shape the future of our countryside.

I believe we urgently need a fresh, positive and practical vision of the future that will inspire and guide the changes we need to make, while re-emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the features that have the greatest long-term value.

The biggest problem we face is the pace and scale of the changes in our climate. The past five years have been the warmest five years recorded, as have 20 of the past 22. As the world warms, what were once extreme weather events—storms, heavy rain, extreme heat and drought—become a feature of everyday life, as do the dire human and natural consequences, as we have recently witnessed in California.

At the same time, technological advances are making it possible for us to do things that were once inconceivable, including deriving new insights from collecting and instantly assessing vast amounts of data about the natural environment and human activity.