How the New Forest National Park Authority is tackling climate change

What are the things that your NPA considers it is strong on in relation to climate change mitigation and/ or adaptation?

• Supporting, facilitating and getting involved in a range of successful community ‘climate change’ projects;
• Initiating and providing resources to enable a range of practical mitigation projects (mostly supported through the SDF) including micro-generation;
• Developing a comprehensive assessment of the impact of predicted climate change on the special qualities of the New Forest;
• Supporting the work of partners (New Forest District Council as the lead agency) in undertaking scientific modelling of the impacts of climate change on the low lying and vulnerable coastline of the New Forest.

What are the 3 main things your NPA is doing on climate change?

1. Working to raise awareness of climate change and communication with local communities and visitors – and promoting the key messages needed to support adaptation and mitigation (talks, projects, green business training events, providing staff and financial resources to support and facilitate community climate change projects such as plastic bag free villages / village carbon footprint projects etc).

2. Preparing an adaptation plan for the New Forest National Park in partnership with others.

3. Assessing the carbon balance of the National Park and exploring ways in which we can increase our contribution to carbon sequestration, taking into account the contribution from the Park’s woods and trees, valley mires and salt marshes.

What are the 3 things your NPA aspire to do on climate change over the course of the CSR period (2008/09 – 2010/11)?

1. To develop a landscape scale programme of habitat restoration and connectivity in partnership with Hampshire County Council and Natural England for the National Park and the surrounding region to enable habitat and species adaptation e.g. through migration; and to work to implement other aspects of the adaptation plan.

2. Continue to find new and engaging ways of raising awareness of climate change with the wider public and specific audiences (e.g. tourism, businesses and agriculture) including promoting our adaptation plan (when complete).

3. Effectively reduce the carbon footprint of the Authority’s operations and those of the National Park as a whole.

What are the main obstacles that you currently face to do more?  

• The dependency on private transport and the lack of practical public transport alternatives for both Authority business and everyday life in the National Park will make reducing the Park’s carbon footprint difficult;
• Developing effective partnerships across both the public and private sectors - and joining up our actions through multiple agency working - is a challenge;
• Finding the time and resources to make projects and initiatives happen against other demands and activities;
• Uncertainty over the predictions of climate change and their consequences - which can frustrate buy-in by stakeholders because of unwillingness to commit / invest limited resources when we are unsure the adaptation will be effective.
• Practical limitations on the capacity to make changes to current temporary HQ offices to reduce the Authority’s carbon footprint.