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23/08/2022

‘Like a map of buried treasure’: study reveals location of ancient trees

There could be millions more ancient trees in England than previously thought, according to a map, which reveals their likely location

“Like a map of buried treasure”. That’s how conservationists have described new research, which suggests there could be as many as 2m ancient and veteran trees in England — ten times as many as previously thought.

Researchers at the University of Nottingham experimented with mathematical models to map the likely location of ancient trees across England. Volunteers then conducted field visits to check the reliability of the maps.

“Based on the best performing distribution models, these estimates predict two million ancient and veteran trees, which is an amazing increase on what is currently recorded,” said Dr Victoria Nolan, one of the lead researchers on the study.

An ancient tree is a tree that shows exceptional age in relation to other trees of the same species. Most ancient trees display similar features, such as a hollowing trunk, dead wood in the canopy or the presence of other organisms, such as fungi or plants on its structure. Veteran trees share similar features and values to ancient trees, but they may not be old enough to be considered truly ancient.

The research builds upon work carried out by the Woodland Trust, Ancient Tree Forum and the Tree Register, which has mapped 180,000 trees.

“It’s remarkable that this research suggests we are yet to find most of the UK’s ancient trees, the cathedrals of the natural world,” said Adam Cormack, head of campaigning at the Woodland Trust. “They’re out there somewhere — hidden in field corners, woods, hedges, even gardens and parks. [This research] is like a map for buried treasure.”

The map created by researchers at the University of Nottingham

He added: “But it’s also worrying because these trees don’t have the automatic legal protection that most of our wildlife and old buildings have. This is despite the fact some are more than 1,000 years old.”

The Woodland Trust is petitioning governments across the UK for better protection of ancient trees.

“These astonishing trees are our inheritance from history, and we should be treating them like national treasures,” said Cormack.

22/08/2022

‘Land is worth more when left to nature’ – study

The economic benefits of conserving or restoring natural sites now ‘outweigh’ the profit potential of using the same areas for farming or timber, a landmark study has found

Conserving or restoring natural sites such as woodlands and wetlands would be more valuable than using the same sites for farming or timber, according to a major new study.

Researchers found that the economic benefits of protecting nature-rich sites outweigh the profit potential the same sites could make by extracting resource. It suggests that even if making money – and not nature – is the priority, conserving these habitats still makes financial sense.

The study, led by the University of Cambridge and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), is the largest ever to compare the value of protecting nature at particular locations with that of exploiting it.

Dozens of sites across six continents, from Kenya to Fiji and China to the UK, were analysed.

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The research team calculated the monetary worth of each site’s “ecosystem services”, such as carbon storage and flood protection, as well as likely dividends from converting it for production of goods such as crops and timber.

Of 24 sites analysed, over 70 per cent provided more economic value to humanity in their natural state, including all forest sites examined.

One of the major economic benefits natural habitats have is from their regulation of the greenhouse gases driving climate change, including the sequestration of carbon, the researchers said.

Lead author, Dr Richard Bradbury from the RSPB, and honorary fellow at the University of Cambridge, said: “Stemming biodiversity loss is a vital goal in itself, but nature also fundamentally underpins human wellbeing.

“We need nature-related financial disclosure, and incentives for nature-focused land management, whether through taxes and regulation or subsidies for ecosystem services.”

The scientists found that Hesketh Out Marsh – a saltmarsh near Preston, UK – is worth almost £1,500 per hectare annually in emissions mitigation alone, outstripping any value that could otherwise be made from crops or grazing.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, come just weeks after a landmark review by Cambridge professor Sir Partha Dasgupta called for the value of biodiversity to be placed at the heart of global economics.

In the review, which was commissioned by the UK Treasury, Dasgupta wrote: “Nature is our home. Good economics demands we manage it better.

Nature is our home. Good economics demands we manage it better

“Truly sustainable economic growth and development means recognising that our long-term prosperity relies on rebalancing our demand of nature’s goods and services with its capacity to supply them. It also means accounting fully for the impact of our interactions with nature. Covid-19 has shown us what can happen when we don’t do this.”

21/08/2022

For the love of: spending time with strangers

When his wife Elee died, Will Buckingham found solace from grief in people he didn’t know. As life opens up again, is it time for us all to celebrate the possibilities that strangers can be to each other?

The doorbell rings. You press the intercom. ‘Hello?’ ‘Hi. It’s Ted.’ You’ve never met Ted. You know almost zilch about him. ‘Ah, Ted, come on up. Feel at home. Bed’s over there; shower’s through there. Cup of tea?’

It sounds far-fetched, but opening the door of their Birmingham home to strangers was normal for life partners Will Buckingham and Elee Kirk. As early adopters of the host-a-traveller app Couchsurfing, they welcomed in dozens of unknown visitors during their 13 years together.

“What’s incredible about connecting with strangers is how so often you find yourself stumbling across completely unanticipated pleasures,” enthuses Buckingham, a 49-year-old writer and social entrepreneur.

He recalls the Austrian transgender artists, who gifted the couple a homemade book, for instance. Or the Syrian chef, who cooked them a feast of crepes and galettes. Such chance encounters, he reflects, make life immensely “broader and wider, and altogether more fun”.

Buckingham and Kirk’s love of welcoming strangers started early. Each the offspring of ministers, they grew up in busy, “porous” homes. The joy of guessing who might step through the door next was something both – unconsciously – carried with them into adulthood.

An appreciation for the richness that such encounters can bring is the basis of Buckingham’s recent book, Hello Stranger, a project he embarked upon when Kirk died of breast cancer five years ago. In her final days, she made two requests of him: to keep travelling and meeting people from cultures different to their own; and to keep the doors of his home always open.

The first struck Buckingham particularly hard. His instinct was the opposite; to close down and shut up shop. Her request, in contrast, was to “go somewhere where you yourself are a stranger, as a way of remaking the world”.

Finding yourself in a strange land can happen quicker than any of us imagined. In such circumstances, the pang to reach out to others is powerful

He took the advice to heart, spending extended periods of time overseas in recent years, including in China and Myanmar. He currently lives in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

His travels have merely confirmed the old adage (attributed to Yeats) that strangers are but friends you haven’t yet met. It’s a lovely idea and one – as ever – that the Greeks were on to long ago. They even hatched a word for it: philoxenia, the love of strangers. It’s there throughout Homer’s Odyssey, Buckingham points out. As the story’s hero Odysseus knocks around the Mediterranean, a friendly local is invariably on hand to give him shelter or to feed his troops.

In part, such hospitality plays to a “naked human need” to connect, as Buckingham writes in Hello Stranger. On a lesser scale, there’s also an element of karmic self-interest at play, prompted by “the knowledge that you too could one day find yourself a stranger”.

As life in lockdown has taught us, finding yourself in a strange land can happen quicker than any of us imagined. In such circumstances, the pang to reach out to others is powerful.

Can travelling help with grief?
Buckingham has spent time in far-flung destinations, including Myanmar. Image: Alexander Schimmeck

Whatever the reason for engaging with people you don’t know, it’s a handy skill. After all, we inhabit a planet of nearly eight billion people. Even for the most sociable among us, that makes almost everyone a stranger.

“You don’t need to go looking for opportunities to meet strangers. It’s inevitable. We are totally outnumbered,” Buckingham reasons.

Even so, suspicion of the ‘other’ has a long history too. Ancient Athens may have been teaming with advocates of philoxenia, but it also had its fair share of xenophobes (‘phobia’, meaning ‘fear’).

His advice is to start by recognising that much of our reticence is cultural (“don’t talk to strangers”). Once over that hump, consider the upsides of what such encounters might bring. And then, well, just “try it and see”.

A modicum of caution is sensible, of course. Wariness of unknown people is hardwired in us by evolutionary instinct, not just culture. Hence our elaborate variety of rituals to govern first meetings, from the language people use to the gifts they may (or may not) bring.

Buckingham’s conclusion? It comes down to trust. So, don’t be rash, but don’t be closed off either. Ted could turn out to be a dullard. But he might just be that fantastic friend you have never met, until now.

21/08/2022

The cost of living crisis: what are governments doing to help?

1. UK
The UK government wasn’t alone in resisting drastic intervention when prices began climbing last year, but the position soon became untenable. Energy bills jumped by an unprecedented 54 per cent in April, meanwhile energy firms raked in record profits.

First came an energy rebate for as many as 28m households, a 5p reduction of fuel duty and the raising of national insurance thresholds to relieve tax burdens.

But after mounting pressure to do more, the then-chancellor Rishi Sunak finally unveiled a £15bn package to be financed in part by a windfall tax on energy firms. (Bulgaria, Italy, Romania and Spain have already imposed such a levy.) This will help pay for, among other things, a one-time transfer of £650 for many of the poorest households on benefits.

In addition to this, every household will receive a £400 discount of electricity this winter. A £150 rebate on council tax for bands A-D has also been paid to many households.

2. France
With the gilets jaunes protest movement and elections in mind, the government in Paris was quicker off the mark in 2021. It started off with a €100 (£85) payout to millions of middle- and lower-income people already receiving energy assistance. Then energy bill hikes were capped, which President Macron pledged to limit to four per cent this year. He funded this by fully nationalising the energy giant EDF and then instructing it to take a €8.4bn (£7.1bn) hit.

Macron is also launching a state-sponsored electric vehicle leasing programme for low income households, to drive down travel costs and wean drivers off fossil fuels.

3. Spain and Portugal
These neighbours fought hard to cap the price of natural gas used to generate electricity for 12 months – a big deal since it is normally illegal under EU common market rules and they had to negotiate an exception with the European Commission. The Spanish government anticipates it will mean a reduction of 30 per cent on energy bills that should reach about a third of households and two-thirds of businesses. The Iberian states are particularly affected by fuel price changes due to their isolation from the EU energy grid.

The Spanish government has also announced an initiative to make travel possible for those who can’t afford it. From September, commuter trains and medium-distance regional routes run by Renfe, the national operator, will be free until the end of the year.

4. Denmark
As part of a drive to phase out the use of Russian natural gas, Copenhagen announced in April plans to connect half the 400,000 individually gas-heated homes to more efficient district heating systems by 2028.

Many others will be fitted with electric heat pumps, and the remainder should start using biogas. In the shorter term, the government is also providing heating bill relief worth €800 (£677) for 320,000 vulnerable households.

5. Germany
Between June and September this year, Germany is offering local public transport tickets at €9 (£7.60) a month, meaning short trips can be covered for just €27 (£22.80) over three months. It is also temporarily suspending a renewable energy levy on bills that helps to fund the country’s energy transition. The government says this should save a four-person household €300 (£254) per year, as compared to 2021.

In addition, there will be a series of one-off payments. People in employment will receive a lump sum of €300 (£254) to help with energy bills. It will be paid via payroll by their employer, which will be able to reclaim it from the government. Freelancers will get a €300 (£254) reduction on their next tax payment. Families have also received a €100 (£85) per child payment.

6. Egypt
Reportedly the world’s largest importer of wheat, Egypt capped the price of bread: a true mainstay of the country’s diet. Some bread is already heavily subsidised and has been for decades, but free market prices of the baked good are now fixed too. The cost of bread is a recurrent theme in protest movements of the region, where many countries also depend heavily on Russia and Ukraine for wheat or sunflower oil.

7. Bangladesh
Dhaka announced a food subsidy programme for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ended in early May. The government said this would help 10 million people (6 per cent of the population). Oil, fertiliser, gas and electricity have also been heavily subsidised.

8. India
In an apparent bid to protect its own citizens from rising food prices, India introduced a wheat export ban (with potential exceptions for countries that are in dire need) in May. It drew criticism from G7 countries. Many were hoping India would help compensate for declining exports from Ukraine and Russia, both of which are major global suppliers. The Indian government had indicated it was ready to sell more abroad to help ease global food prices, but a heatwave and resulting crop destruction seem to have rapidly changed policy, according to local media.

9. New Zealand
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern initially resisted labelling the rapidly increasing cost of fuel, food and rent as a ‘crisis’ but soon conceded it was. In March, she announced a package of measures, including a reduction in fuel excise duty and the halving of public transport fares. Minimum wages, benefits and tax credits were all bumped up at the start of April.

21/08/2022

These are world’s best cities to live in, according to researchers

It is politically stable, with low crime, excellent healthcare, world-class cultural institutions and slick infrastructure — all of which helped Vienna top an annual index of the world’s most liveable cities.

Rating cities for liveability is a tricky task, but one the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) sets itself each year. It assesses 172 cities across five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

The Danish capital, Copenhagen, came second in the latest index. Joint third was Zurich in Switzerland, and Calgary in Canada. The highest ranked UK city was Manchester — placed 28th — edging out London in 33rd. The US also failed to crack the top 25. Its best performing city was Atlanta in 26th spot.

Of Vienna (main image), the report’s authors said: “Stability and good infrastructure are the city’s main charms for its inhabitants, supported by good healthcare and plenty of opportunities for culture and entertainment.”

The Austrian capital, which has among the highest tax in Europe, has topped the ranking before. In a separate survey in 2020, it was ranked the world’s greenest city.

“The picture that emerges is a broadly positive one. Amid the gradual — and ongoing — shift in the status of Covid-19 from pandemic to endemic, and a rise in global vaccination rates, the global average liveability score has rebounded,” it said.

However, it added: “Although the pandemic has receded, a new threat to liveability emerged when Russia invaded Ukraine in the middle of our survey period. We were forced to abort our survey for Kyiv, excluding Ukraine’s capital from our rankings.”

The EIU does not take cost of living into account when compiling the index, which of course impacts people’s ability to live comfortably. The organisation has a separate ranking for that: the annual Worldwide Cost of Living report. Its most recent edition identified Tel Aviv, Israel, to be the most expensive city in the world, followed by Paris and Singapore — none of which featured in the top 10 liveability ranking.

The best cities to live in, according to the EIU
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Calgary, Canada
5. Vancouver, Canada
6. Geneva, Switzerland
7. Frankfurt, Germany
8. Toronto, Canada
9. Amsterdam, Netherlands
10. Osaka, Japan
11. Melbourne, Australia

After falling significantly during the worst days of the pandemic, the average liveability score is now almost back to pre-pandemic levels, the EIU reported.

21/08/2022

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21/08/2022

21/08/2022