Tristan O'Leary

Growing up on a regenerative small holding, the relationship between food systems and the natural world has long been an interest of mine. Focussing on land-use tensions and geo-politics at Oxford, and now an MSc in Sustainable Development with Exeter, my interests lie in how we can leverage policy and natural capital principles to encourage not only regenerative land management and food systems alongside investment in nature recovery, but ultimately how we can ensure social equity and robust governance at a systems level when designing environmental solutions. I’m drawn to the social elements of nature recovery and climate change adaptation, in particular the intersection of geopolitics, biodiversity economics and justice.

What is Countryside Stewardship?

What is Countryside Stewardship? Of the many agri-environment schemes, Countryside Stewardship (CS) is perhaps the most well-known. As Basic Payment Scheme funding continues to decline, and the new Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) gain more traction, farmers and land managers must stay abreast of schemes that not only benefit their land’s finances but also contribute …

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Biodiversity Net Gain – Sorely needed investment for nature policy set to kick in

The 12 February 2024 marks the formal launch of the much-awaited policy Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), where a net 10% improvement in biodiversity becomes mandatory for major developers (residential developments with 10 or more dwellings), whether on-site, or by “purchasing” biodiversity credits from “off-site” providers. BNG will apply to small sites (9 dwellings or less) in April 2024, and for nationally significant infrastructure projects in 2025. It is hoped this policy will provide much-needed funding for land owners and managers to support improvements to the natural environment and ecological resilience.