State of the Countryside 2007: Land and Environment

This chapter examines the nature of land use in rural areas and new pressures from waste and energy uses. It explores the quality of the environment in terms of air and water quality, biodiversity and new measures such as ‘tranquillity'.

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Some key facts from this chapter:

• 19% of England is ‘urban’ or ‘built up’; 71% is agricultural; 9% is woodland.

• The proportion of development taking place on previously developed land has increased in the most rural areas to 50%.

• UK self-sufficiency currently stands at around 60% of all foods

• 3.1% of total agricultural land is organically farmed or in-conversion to organic.

• In 2005, 2.2% of all farmland was used for ‘industrial’ crops (including energy crops)

• In 1977-9, otters were found in only 6% of river stretches surveyed in England, but by 2000 – 2, it had increased to 36% of surveyed river stretches.

• In rural areas, the estimated level of CO2 emissions is just over 12 tonnes per person; in urban areas the figure is 11.7 tonnes per person.

Return to the main State of the Countryside 2007 page

More about the Living in the countryside section

More about the Economic wellbeing chapter