BASC has welcomed the findings of a new report from the House of Commons Environment Audit Committee on halting biodiversity loss.
BASC submitted evidence to the Committee’s enquiry which was listed in the report ‘Halting Biodiversity Loss’. BASC highlighted the need to provide government support for shooting’s considerable contribution to biodiversity, as evidenced through their Green Shoots programme which has made real gains for wildlife outside protected sites at the landscape level.
The report calls on the government to work in the wider countryside using the ecosystem approach which promotes the management of environmental resources for the dual purposes of conservation and sustainable use.
BASC’s head of biodiversity projects, Ian Danby, said: “The management of land for shooting provides a diversity of habitats at a landscape level outside of nature reserves and thus achieves the ecosystem approach recommended in the report. Shooting sports are a major force for the conservation of biodiversity and we welcome this report from the EAC as it should lead to an environment where shooting’s contribution can grow further and gain the recognition it deserves.”
ENDS