This document was originally published in 1996

The plants and animals around us help to define what we mean by Sussex. It is a rich and varied county. Despite rapidly growing concern about the environment, our wildlife is still in decline, even in Sussex. The Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 stimulated world wide concern about the destruction of the environment. International and UK commitments were made to encourage a more sustainable way of life on our planet. One result has been the preparation of a number of "Biodiversity Action Plans". This report sets out the Sussex Wildlife Trust's Vision for what the Sussex countryside might be like in 2045. Whilst it is vital to identify and protect the best wildlife that remains, there is now an opportunity to do something much bolder and put back into the countryside some of the wildlife rich areas that were lost over the past century. Our Vision sets targets for each characteristic habitat for 2005, suggests an action plan to achieve these and lists a number of plants and animals which might be used to indicate progress towards targets.

The conservation matrix of Sussex
Sussex is densely populated; most people live on the coast and urban areas cover 12% of the county. Agriculture is the major land use, occupying 66% of the county and the majority of our wildlife is to be found on farms. Sussex is heavily wooded compared with the rest of the UK with woods and forests covering 17% of the county. Nature reserves, where wildlife has priority, account for less than 0.5% of the land.

David Plummer
The farmed countryside
Farming policy is set to change radically over the next 50 years. Rapidly improving farming conditions in Poland, Hungary and other eastern European countries who want to join the European Union will add to surpluses and put a financial strain on the budget for the Common Agricultural Policy. International agreements on trade require further reductions in farm subsidies. These pressures will move farming towards a free market. In a free market, one third of the farmland in Sussex, 80,000 ha, might be fully competitive. With political and public support it should be possible to continue farming a further 90,000 ha under environmentally sensitive schemes where wildlife is positively encouraged. Even if this is achieved, 70,000 ha will go to other uses such as golf courses, pony paddocks and development. We argue strongly that at least half of this "surplus" land be encouraged through government policy into new commercial woodland and new wildlife reserves. It would not be unreasonable for a rich county like Sussex to seek to devote a further 15,000 ha directly to wildlife reserves and 20,000 ha to woodlands over the next 50 years, and this should be possible at a much lower cost to taxpayers than the current farm subsidy policies.

Forests and woods
There is a rich array of woodlands in Sussex: ancient woods, coppiced woodlands, old grazed wood pastures and parklands, a variety of commercial woods and forests and rare gill and sandrock woodlands. The first priority is to protect all that remains of the best and oldest woodland for wildlife. There are some woods which have grown or been planted in places that were previously heath or chalk grassland; these should be removed and the land restored to its original vegetation. Overall, a 40% expansion of woodland over the next 50 years is feasible with the great majority of it planted on land previously used for intensive agriculture. A major new forest is proposed to cover between 5,000 and 10,000 ha by 2045. It will contain a mixture of woodlands, grassy clearings and pastures, with a wide range of ages and species of trees and the whole forest grazed by relatively free herds of ponies, cattle, deer and pigs.

The coast
Four-fifths of the coast of Sussex has now been developed; it is time to call a halt. The natural actions of the sea have been temporarily halted by coastal defences. Many of the cliffs, salt marshes, mudflats, shingle ridges, lagoons and sand dunes that go to make up our coastal habitats are now trapped between a hardened coast and the open sea. The natural processes that maintain these interesting habitats are no longer effective. We would like to see a long-term plan to allow a return to a more natural coast allowing all coastal habitats to survive and some such as salt-marshes and mudflats to expand. We would like to see the majority of the rare vegetated gravels west of Rye become a nature reserve.

Chalk grassland
The chalk grasslands of the South Downs are one of the classic Sussex landscapes and internationally rare. But only 3% to 5% of the Downs now remain in something like their original species-rich state. Their future depends on continued grazing by sheep and thus on the fortunes of sheep farmers. The introduction of an Environmentally Sensitive Area on the South Downs has helped stem the decline. What is now needed is greater efforts to enrol many more farmers into the scheme. The scheme needs to be reformed to encourage a greater proportion of the land entering to be put down to permanent pasture. The aim should be to return a third of the downs to species-rich permanent grassland by 2045.

Heathland
Heathlands with their flowering heather, gorse bushes and birch trees are limited to north-west Europe and the Sussex heaths are of international importance. Of some 11,000 ha of heathland that existed in 1813, less than 3,000 ha remain today. Ashdown Forest is by far the largest and is in protective ownership and has its own Act of Parliament. The first priority is to reintroduce grazing management without which all our heaths will eventually grow over and become woodlands. The reintroduction of cattle, ponies and sheep is likely to be the most effective approach and Ashdown Forest will set the example. The remaining heathlands on the Lower Greensand of West Sussex should be enlarged and linked by grassy heaths so that they too can be managed effectively and expanded by 2,500 ha by 2045.

Neutral grassland
Neutral grasslands in the Weald are rich in unusual plants and insects. They are nationally rare and are perhaps under greater threat than any of our other extensive habitats. Sussex probably has 17% of those remaining in Britain. These meadows are very dependent on traditional farming and particularly associated with hay making. The Sussex Wildlife Trust is already involved in the identification of the best remaining meadows. Government action is urgently needed to create a new agri-environmental scheme tailored to the needs of the farmers who might maintain this precious resource.

Wetlands
Most of the wetlands lie in the flood plains of the main Sussex rivers. Particularly fine grazing marshes can be found at Amberley and Pevensey and on the Arun, Adur, Ouse and Cuckmere. The best areas for wildlife are those which have a high water table, are poorly drained, and traditionally grazed by sheep and cattle. A few such areas remain. Wetlands also traditionally contained reedbeds, small riverine wet woodlands and areas of open water. This is one of the habitats which is easiest to recreate. Within ten years it might be possible to revert 2,000 ha of cultivated land into grazing marsh and in the long term half the Sussex wetlands could revert to grazing marshes. Two large wetland nature reserves should be established covering 1,000 ha and the Sussex Wildlife Trust will work with other voluntary organisations to achieve this. Ponds and freshwater bodies are additional important wetland habitats and their conservation status can be improved through better management.

Geology
Sussex featured prominently in the birth of the science of geology. Many of the important geological sites used for study and research have been lost over the years. A survey to identify Regionally Important Geological Sites is underway. It is hoped to identify and eventually protect about 200 sites throughout Sussex.

Species protection
The action proposed to protect and restore the more common habitats will protect many species of plants and animals and indeed the large families of insects, lichens, fungi and other groups which are often overlooked. But some scarce species will require special action to protect them, for example the field cricket. The Sussex Wildlife Trust will work with others to help compile and publish a Rare Species Inventory for Sussex by 1999 and to produce action plans for the most important species under threat.

Natural resources and infrastructure
If all the actions proposed were undertaken and 5% of Sussex was devoted to wildlife reserves, there might still be a wildlife decline. Insidious processes are at work that are often difficult to identify, yet none the less cause damage. Global warming, as a result of our use of energy may cause temperature and sea level rises. Pollution from the increasing use of the car and the lorry may kill sensitive wildlife as well as causing human health problems. Pollution and waste products from industry, farming and from the products we use in every house in Sussex all cause problems. Land will still be needed for housing, industry and for mineral extraction. These problems are widely recognised and it is time that more specific targets were set by our County and District Councils and that Government armed them with the powers to reduce the problems, rather than just containing them. The environmental balance sheet for Sussex should begin to show net gains by 2005.

The urban environment
Most of us live in urban areas; they can be attractive places to live. Towns and cities can be environmentally efficient, reducing the need for energy and minimising the need to use transport. However, some of our urban areas are unattractive and hostile places and these are the places that are most likely to be devoid of wildlife. Playing in woods, picking blackberries and trudging over the Downs and along Wealden lanes were common experiences for many children fifty years ago. Few now have such ready access to wildlife and the countryside. Opportunities for people to enjoy wildlife can be created in many of our towns through sympathetic management of open land. Urban wildlife groups can help many more people to experience, enjoy and understand wildlife and then perhaps to go on to an interest in the wider countryside.

Making wildlife relevant to people
This Vision for the wildlife of Sussex can only be made a reality if it wins the active support of the people of Sussex. People can help in three different ways. Through direct environmental action by joining the Sussex Wildlife Trust or one of the many other environmental groups and taking an active interest. By campaigning to influence councillors, members of parliament and other decision makers to make better environmental decisions, and by changes to our lifestyles so that we will all have less impact on the environment. We can all use less energy in our houses, buy products in the shops which cause no environmental damage and reduce the pollution and waste from our cars and our homes. The new wildlife reserves should provide many more interesting places for people to visit and enjoy. The Sussex Wildlife Trust will help to explain, interpret and identify our wildlife. We hope in turn that many more people will act to sustain our environment and protect our wildlife.

Conclusion
There is a real choice to be made about how much wildlife there will be in Sussex in 2045. A choice about what Sussex will look like. A choice between a green and pleasant county, free from pollution and with growing wildlife numbers, or a declining countryside where the environment and wildlife are under constant pressure. The Sussex Wildlife Trust believe that there is only one possible choice.
Dramatic improvements are possible when people and politicians put their efforts to solving problems. Those who can remember the dreadful urban smogs of winter in many big cities in the quite recent past know it is possible to solve environmental problems. Taking the action proposed in this modest and practical Vision will produce a much enriched wildlife and countryside and add to everyone's quality of life. It will result in a fine Sussex which we should be proud to leave to our heirs.