The Public Accounts Committee in the UK Parliament published a report this week on the new Environmental Land Management Schemes planned by Defra in England. Auvikki de Boon submitted written evidence to this inquiry, which can be read here.
Auvikki’s work argued that the ELMs scheme “in its current form risks insufficient support from its stakeholders to be effective and socially sustainable in the long term. However, there is scope for improvement within the structures that DEFRA have laid out. Key areas for improvement include specifying the goal formulation, clarifying how all instruments will be implemented and enforced, increasing transparency of the design process, and moving toward a systemic approach that recognizes the complexity and interconnectedness of the socio-ecological system.” Her evidence critiqued the artificial polarity between production and nature.
The Public Accounts Committee made similar recommendations, criticising the polarisation between production and the environment, questioning whether there were measurable targets, and raising problems with the co-design process. The full report from the Public Accounts Committee can be read here.