A climate and nature emergency for the New Forest

The climate crisis is the most significant long-term threat to the extraordinary New Forest landscape.

We believe urgent action is needed to tackle the twin crises of the climate and nature emergencies.

What are the impacts of the climate and nature emergencies on the New Forest?

The New Forest National Park is a world capital for wildlife with a unique mosaic of habitats and many rare species. However, the natural and cultural landscape could suffer huge impacts from further climate change.

While the impacts are complex, put simply, climate change is causing warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers which will continue to amplify as climate change intensifies.

This is already impacting our wildlife, local livelihoods and human health as these changes affect water quality and availability, pollination, flooding, soil formation and carbon storage.

Our wildlife and nature are under threat from rising temperatures, wildfires, pests, diseases, drier soils and wetlands, and more powerful and frequent storms.

Climate change also affects the range and numbers of species present within the New Forest and alters their seasonal activity.

What are we doing for the New Forest National Park?

As the New Forest National Park Authority, we’re working to both reduce the effects of climate change and help the Forest adapt, so that the special qualities of the National Park are maintained for future generations. National parks across the UK are pulling together to drive change and inspire positive action too.

We’re doing this across all of our work. Coordinated through our ‘Net Zero with Nature’ approach, we are aiming to:

• Protect the New Forest’s carbon stores and increase its ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere, through restoring and protecting habitats (this is called mitigation)
• Help the New Forest adapt to the climate and nature emergencies, by making more space for nature and making wildlife areas more resilient (this is called adaptation)

By making changes together now, we can make a positive difference to the New Forest and the planet.

Framework for action

Our framework for action on climate change explains our plan as a National Park Authority (NPA) to drive forward the New Forest’s response to climate change, beyond our organisational boundaries. This includes:

Implement nature-based solutions

• Help support the rapid transition to a low-carbon economy for land-based sectors, ensuring that land use change delivers sustainable land management and improvements to soils, supporting increased carbon sequestration (absorption and storage).
• Demonstrate how nature-based solutions can help develop resilience to climate change at a landscape scale.

Establish baseline data and evidence

• Identify and fill knowledge gaps, helping us to understand more about the impacts of climate change and the opportunities for meaningful action. 
• Develop pilot projects that demonstrate how to finance climate mitigation actions through carbon off-setting schemes and support National Park Partnership’s Net Zero with Nature proposal.

Use our convening power to energise those willing to take forward our vision

• Use the full range of the NPA’s skills and resources to encourage climate action at strategic, landscape and local community levels. 
• Advocate for policy change and partnership working.

Activate communities

• Provide communities with the skills and the opportunities to take the actions they can, share ideas and make a real difference.
• Use our planning powers to deliver highly sustainable homes and raise the bar in terms of design and build standards, through incentives.

Increase sustainable transport

• Work with partners to unlock opportunities to reduce emissions from individuals and public transport. 
• Promote sustainable tourism

Working with UK National Parks

We are working with the UK’s 15 National Parks on coordinated action to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, joining the Race to Zero initiative, committing to drive action to halve carbon emissions within their landscapes by 2030 and become significant net carbon sinks by 2050.