10/10/24 Threat of the bark beetle to UK forestry, seabed damage in protected areas, re-wiggling rivers

Farming Today

How best to stop the spread of a tiny beetle that could have a huge impact on the future health and profits of UK forestry? From the end of this month all new planting of spruce, with a handful of exceptions, will be banned across much of the south east of England. The restrictions form part of the Government's plans to control the bark beetle, a pest which has caused significant damage to forests across Europe. It was first found in the UK in 2018, this latest measure is a new addition to current rules restricting the felling and movement of spruce trees, their bark and their wood.

Environmental groups say the Scottish Government is failing the nation’s marine environment by leaving large areas of the seabed unprotected. It’s ten years since the introduction of Marine Protected Areas, but restrictions have still not been fully implemented.

We're talking about how we manage water in the landscape all this week, so we’ve been to see how re-wiggling a river works on a restored floodplain in Wiltshire.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.