COMMENT: Why do politicians pay lip service to the environment?

Tuesday 15 May 2018

The current election campaign is coming to an end, and if you've listened very closely, you might have heard a few of the candidates make promises which they count as 'green' - such as supporting the island's agricultural industry.

But even if elected, what do those promises actually mean?

 Express columnist Mike Stentiford MBE asks if that political support for the environment is courageous enough to actually take steps to protect it...

“Tomorrow, optimistic islanders will be ticking the boxes and hoping their chosen candidates(s) will be fulfilling a lorry-load of political promises.

Finding out whether or not we’ve collectively made the right decisions will likely incur a long wait.

There’s certainly no shortage of 'mega' issues to tackle; the majority of them on the home-front, but there are scores of others waiting in the wings to put the international cat among the local pigeons.

Not surprisingly, the subject of environment has again failed to find even the most modest of inclusions on the political agenda.

And this despite each and every past and present politician laying sincere claim to holding green issues close to their hearts.

Farming, and Jersey’s diverse land mass and biodiversity, might be incredibly important but, in the political arena, have never reached the financially supported heights of the major players - health, education, housing and finance.

Nevertheless, the environment did receive a few sincere mentions during the run of recent Senatorial hustings although, purposefully I imagine, more thinly disguised as a promise of support for the farming industry.

The apparent consensus of opinion being that, as the majority of farmers are rightfully acknowledged as being the true ‘custodians of our countryside’, there’s really no need for any immediate concern for the environment.

While agreeing that agricultural practices have undoubtedly helped shape the character of our landscape, it would be disingenuous to negate other agencies who continue to make enormously beneficial contributions to the ambience of our coastline and countryside.

In particular, charities such as the National Trust for Jersey who, over the past eighty years or so, has given the strongest stewardship imaginable to much of the Island’s natural heritage.

Achieving this with no direct subsidies from the States of Jersey is surely deserving of equal recognition and certainly worthy of acclaim for what the charity continues to provide on everyone’s behalf.

Others, such as Trees for Life and scores of private landowners are likewise making tremendous efforts to ensure that Jersey remains green, pleasant and of sustainable benefit to us and to wildlife.

It’s also worth acknowledging that maintaining much of the Island’s rural character depends on the continuing input of the Department of the Environment.

Similarly, its big sister, the Planning Department, attempts to keep rigidly to the legally binding, but often controversial, demands on the Green Zone. 

Pictured: "Many environmental charities are responsible for retaining the character of certain parts of Jersey's precious and publicly accessible National Park coastline." 

This official Planning ‘stewardship’ also includes protecting our coastline from inappropriate development: an increasingly necessary obligation that currently sits under the umbrella of Jersey’s embryonic National Park.

Endorsed by the States in 2011, this ‘not for profit’ organisation is firmly embedded within the Island Plan and is referred to in all sensitive coastal planning applications.

And this is where, due to every likelihood of a radical revision of the Island Plan in 2021, protecting the long term values of Jersey’s natural heritage might easily be regarded as ‘surplus to financial requirements.'

Ideally, it should be the time when legally binding laws relating to the protection of our natural landscape - and this includes the marine environment - continues to be honoured and wisely adhered to.

But, whether certain of these previously agreed endorsements and commitments are strengthened, tweaked or confined to the waste bin will depend a great deal on the collective environmental conscience of a new States Assembly.

It’s likely to be an anxious wait knowing that the word environment has been omitted from a number of candidates manifestos!

The road ahead is likely to be long and treacherous so it might be prudent to keep in mind the political advice of one James F Clarke - “A politician thinks of the next election - a statesman of the next generation.""

Lead Picture: "Despite the natural environment failing to gain any primetime discussions during the recent hustings, politicians must be aware of the need to fully protect the future of the Green Zone."