Preservation of the Nature in the Rural Areas
Preservation of the nature in the rural areas has not received enough attention in the past. Traditionally, the rural areas and unspoiled nature were believed to go in hand in hand but in reality, the nature was and still is seriously threatened by the conventional agricultural methods.
Agriculture is the very most important source of survival in the rural areas. At the moment of writing, the UK farmers do not produce enough food to feed the entire population which made the country dependent on food imports. This raises concerns about the country’s food security and increases the pressure on the rural communities to produce more food which, however, seriously threatens the efforts to preserve nature. The environment in the rural areas is under increased pressure for most of the last 100 years and intensification of food production with the use of conventional agricultural methods poses a risk of irreparable damage to the environment without solving the food security issue.
Food production rates increased dramatically since the mid-20th century thanks to mechanisation, artificial fertilizers and chemical pesticides. However, chemical fertilizers and pesticides are among the most serious environmental polluters and directly threaten the nature and human health due to their toxicity. Agricultural mechanisation has increased farm output and reduced the physical labour at the same time, however, it made the farms dangerously depended on fossil fuels which could cause serious problems in the future considering that the fossil fuels are not available in limitless amounts.
Reducing the country’s dependence on food imports and preserve nature in the rural areas at the same time is not an easy task as the same measures that increase food production increase damage to the environment. The best solution for preservation of the nature in the rural areas is organic farming which reduces the pressure on the environment by strict avoidance of toxic chemicals and stimulation of biodiversity as an integral part of organic farming methods.
Organic farming also provides a stable income to the rural communities as it eliminates the expenses for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, while organic food reaches higher prices on the market. However, the yields are typically slightly lower than in conventional agriculture which means that it does not solve the food security issue although the yield of some organic farms is comparable to that of the conventional ones. In addition, organic farming typically requires more physical labour which means that it increases employment opportunities in the rural areas.
Other sustainable agricultural methods such as permaculture offer a potential solution as well when it comes to both food security and preservation of the nature in the rural areas. The transition from conventional to sustainable agriculture, however, is taking place extremely slowly also due to the fact that sustainable agricultural methods radically contradict the conventional ones and that it takes a few years to complete the transition. This poses a risk of permanent damage to the environment which is why it is necessary to assist the rural communities in their transition to sustainable agriculture in both financial and technical aspects.