A forest for future generations

The UK is one of the few places in Northern Europe to have retained some of its ancient forests, which are important places for human livelihoods and wellbeing. Many of these special places are protected landscapes but human pressures on the environment make it hard to manage the balance between conservation and public access. Helen Dancer explores our shared values towards forests as natural and cultural landscapes and new legal ways of thinking about how to ensure a healthy environment and the wellbeing of future generations.

Recommended reading 

DEFRA. 2022. Landscapes Review (National Parks and AONBs): Government Response.

Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

Independent Panel on Forestry. 2012. Final Report.

Landscapes Review. 2019. Final Report.

New Forest National Park. New Forest Code.

The Woodland Trust. 2017. Charter for Trees, Woods and People. 

Tubbs, Colin R. 2001. The New Forest: History, Ecology and Conservation. Lyndhurst, New Forest Ninth Centenary Trust.

Acknowledgments

This podcast episode was written and presented by Helen Dancer, produced by Will Hood of The Academic Podcast Agency, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the University of Sussex, with poetry by Harriet Fraser and sound archive from New Forest Sounds.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does nature have rights?

In 2021 Ecuador’s Constitutional Court set a global precedent when it upheld constitutional rights of nature to protect the Los Cedros cloud forest from mineral extraction. Rights of nature have become a global movement that are being increasingly recognised in countries around the world, challenging us to think differently about how we relate to nature, including forests through the language of rights. Helen Dancer explores the philosophy and beliefs behind rights of nature, global legal developments and possibilities for recognising rights of nature in the UK.

Recommended reading

Barkham, P. 2021. Should rivers have the same rights as people? The Guardian 25 July.

Burdon, Peter D. 2020. Obligations in the Anthropocene. Law and Critique 31 (3): 309–28.

Dancer, Helen. 2021. Harmony with Nature: Towards a New Deep Legal Pluralism. The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 53 (1): 21–41.

Howe, Helena R. 2017. Making Wild Law Work—The Role of “Connection with Nature” and Education in Developing an Ecocentric Property Law. Journal of Environmental Law 29 (1): 19–45.

Kaminski, Isabella. 2023. River Ouse may become first in England to gain legal rights. The Guardian 1 March.

Kauffman, Craig M., and Pamela Martin. 2021. The Politics of Rights of Nature: Strategies for Building a More Sustainable Future. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Stone, Christopher D. 2010. Should Trees Have Standing? Law, Morality, and the Environment. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y: Oxford University Press. 

Eco Jurisprudence Monitor

Acknowledgments

This podcast episode was written and presented by Helen Dancer, produced by Will Hood of The Academic Podcast Agency, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the University of Sussex, with sound archive from New Forest Sounds.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irreplaceable

How have our relationships with forests evolved over time? What is it that makes forests special and even, irreplaceable? Helen Dancer explores the evolving nature of human relationships with forests, the qualities of ancient woodlands and how they are legally protected in the UK. With the latest scientific research giving new insights into how trees and other forest species communicate and support each other, how should we rethink our relationships with forests and protect them for the future?

Recommended reading

Rackham, Oliver. 2015. Woodlands. London: William Collins.

Simard, Suzanne. 2021. Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the Wisdom and Intelligence of the Forest. Allen Lane.

The Woodland Trust. 2021. State of UK’s Woods and Trees 2021 Report. Grantham: The Woodland Trust.

The Wildlife Trusts. 2020. What’s the Damage? Why HS2 Will Cost Nature Too Much. The Wildlife Trusts.

Waring, Bonnie. 2021. There Aren’t Enough Trees in the World to Offset Society’s Carbon Emissions – and There Never Will Be The Conversation 23 April.

Wohlleben, Peter. 2017. The Hidden Life of Trees. London: William Collins.

Acknowledgments

This podcast episode was written and presented by Helen Dancer, produced by Will Hood of The Academic Podcast Agency, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the University of Sussex, with sound archive from New Forest Sounds.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People & Forests is a podcast for anyone who wants to learn more about our relationships with forests, why forests matter to us and how new ways of thinking about nature and rights could help us protect forests for present and future generations.

The podcast is written and presented by Dr Helen Dancer of the University of Sussex and shares insights from her research on human-forest relations funded by an Arts & Humanities Research Council Leadership Fellowship. It is produced by Will Hood of The Academic Podcast Agency.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.