Rewild the Commons
COMMUNITIES CAN PROTECT OUR LANDS
Our natural inheritance is being squandered, our commons destroyed. Commons have transformed from public goods to private assets. Common land should be managed for the people by the people. We demand the right to take them back and protect our natural environment.
COMMUNITY RIGHT TO THE COMMONS.
3% of land in England is common land. This is land which has rights attached allowing commoners to do things like graze their livestock, fish, or gather firewood. Historically these rights have been essential to the survival of ordinary people.
This is no longer the case. Today commoners are a tiny group of people who have access to common land through their private property. Common rights have become a private privilege.
This is a tragedy on its own. However, common land is also highly significant for biodiversity and nature. 21% of SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) are on common land and across the UK their condition is in decline [1]. Across Dartmoor 93.38% of SSSIs are in unfavourable condition, in part due to the overgrazing of the common land [2].
Commons for the 21st Century
Create a commons fit for the future
Commoners are trapped in a vicious cycle that requires them to overgraze the land in order to make ends meet. We need to break this cycle for ourselves and for nature.
Common rights must reflect the needs of the 21st Century, biodiversity increase and carbon drawdown are the new essential needs of our time.
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