Read the Archbishop’s statement on biodiversity below, following the call for the Church of England to use more of its land for rewilding purposes.
“I welcome this initiative and the continued pressure to ensure biodiversity and wildlife protection in the UK. We’re called by God to steward carefully this beautiful world and to protect what’s been gifted to us.
Among many amazing local rewilding projects in dioceses across the country, the Church of England manages 88,000 acres of forests, ensuring sustainable practices and biodiversity conservation. We’ve set the target of net zero carbon emissions by 2030, with land use playing a central role. Eighty-two thousand acres of the church’s land are used as farmland to produce food, amongst other things.
In this debate about how we use our land for the common good, it’s really important to hold the balance between the desperate requirement for new housing, the urgent necessity for food from farms, and the vital need for biodiversity and flourishing wildlife.”
