“Born out of crisis”: assessing the legacy of the Exmoor moorland management agreements
Lobley, Matt; Winter, Michael
Date: 10 September 2009
Journal
Rural History
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Shortly after the designation of Exmoor National Park in 1954 the moorland that the park was charged with maintaining and enhancing came under threat from agricultural improvement. The ensuing ‘moorland conflict’ eventually lead to a pioneering system of moorland management agreements (MMAs). The MMAs have an important place in the ...
Shortly after the designation of Exmoor National Park in 1954 the moorland that the park was charged with maintaining and enhancing came under threat from agricultural improvement. The ensuing ‘moorland conflict’ eventually lead to a pioneering system of moorland management agreements (MMAs). The MMAs have an important place in the transformation of agricultural policy and the development and social acceptance amongst farmers and landowners of the concept that farmers should be paid for their stewardship of the environment. Drawing on published and unpublished documents, as well as extensive interviews, this paper revisits the origins of the problem of moorland reclamation, assesses role played by key individuals in publicising the problem and promoting management agreements as a solution, considers the risks taken by those entering into management agreements, and identifies some of the tangible and intangible impacts of the MMA system.
Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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