ECOS Interviews: SARA OLDFIELD

Thoughts from influential nature conservationists…

Sara Oldfield

Career Highlights

I am a plant enthusiast, hesitate to call myself a botanist, who loves growing plants and looking at species in their natural habitats. Professionally I have enjoyed a long career in nature conservation working both on a freelance basis and for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre; Fauna & Flora International and latterly running Botanic Gardens Conservation International until 2015. Since then I have been writing, researching and editing – all to do with plants!

I feel privileged to have had such interesting jobs from surveying peat bogs for the Nature Conservancy Council to serving as Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). Highlights include preparing Fragments of Paradise for BANC (funded by WWF) back in 1987. This was a call for action for conservation in the UK Overseas Territories.

I have also helped to advance the conservation of threatened trees around the world. The tree conservation work was carried out through the Global Tree Assessment (GTA) which has undertaken IUCN assessments for over 80 percent of the World’s tree species. The Global Trees Campaign (GTC) ran for over 20 years, addressing the in situ conservation of over 400 threatened tree species in more than 50 countries worldwide, as well as developing capacity and helping to raise the profile of threatened trees. It operated as a partnership between BGCI and Fauna & Flora (FFI) working with local organisations. Now BGCI and Fauna & Flora continue to have major global tree programmes. Using the results of the GTA, funding from charitable organisations has increased significantly to support NGOs conserving trees around the world.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was a young international agreement when I first worked on implementation of this as part of my first ‘permanent’ job with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It has been interesting to watch how the Convention has developed and increasingly been used to tackle tricky issues like illegal trade in threatened timbers and commercial fish stocks.

How do you define nature conservation?

I think this is quite a tricky question. There are various standard definitions relating to biodiversity conservation. I think it is more to do with being fully exposed to and aware of the natural world and the need to limit the massive amount of damage we are causing. I do think we have a particular responsibility to look after special places and rare species not just because of the benefits they might provide to people. Equally, taking care of the environment is fundamental to our well-being and survival and is not taken seriously enough at a political or societal level.

Sara on a scientific survey of rare plants in Baja, California, with an Ocotillo Fouquieria splendens. 

What’s the good news about wildlife and nature at present?

Awareness about biodiversity conservation, climate change and the interlinkages between our actions and threats to the environment has increased significantly so that the problems cannot be avoided. Perhaps inevitably this has resulted in strong lobbies for polluting industries and political backtracking but at least the debates are mainstream.

In the UK there have been major successes with reintroductions such as the spread of the red kite. There is increased availability of native seed for use in restoration. In the UK, at least 200 native and archeophyte species, mostly native and archaeophyte species either grown as row crops by specialist seed producers or collected by brush harvesting native grasslands.

There has been increasing recognition of the importance of plants over the years and the fact that they too can be threatened species with conservation needs. Plantlife is for example an excellent organisation. No Mow May is a very progressive campaign that is relatively easy for people to support – especially those of us fortunate enough to have gardens.

BANC’s interest in the UK Overseas Territories led to a much greater coordination in conservation of their unique species and ecosystems. UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum was established after the publication of Fragments of Paradise and has gone from strength to strength. The development of local capacity in Territory organisations, both official and NGO, has been a great success, obviously linked to UKOTCF. I haven’t been directly involved with this work for quite some years as I chose to concentrate on tree conservation. But now I am working with the UKOTCF to edit a book on conservation in the UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies which will highlight major conservation progress as well as the ongoing challenges.

One of the issues we will address in the book is tackling invasive species which are a major problem in most of the Territories. And we will highlight really good restoration programmes such as the Millennium Forest in St Helena; Cahow or Bermuda Petrel in Bermuda and Blue Iguana in Grand Cayman.

Beyond the obvious of habitat loss and species decline, what’s your greatest concern in UK nature conservation at present?

Lack of political commitment. Backtracking on environmental commitments. Ridiculous that we still don’t have a complete ban on use of peat in horticulture. Shocking state of rivers. It is very sad that so many young people feel anxious about the environmental future. Back in the 1970s I think we felt part of new era for environmental awareness and action – perhaps a tad naïve. At school I was inspired by the first Human Environment Conference held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972. Internationally, the Red Listing of species, notably plants, ramped up during the decade, conservation legislation was developed and CITES came into force. The UK played a leading role both nationally and internationally. Subsequently, government institutions responsible for nature conservation have been weakened and responsibility for nature conservation increasingly taken up by NGOs with limited resources. And environmental problems are increasing. Am I pessimistic? Yes, but innovative new solutions will hopefully be found.

Sara (left in both photos) with her colleague Jane Smart (later the first director of Plantlife) as students and 45 years later at Malham Tarn, Yorkshire.

If you had a limited budget on nature conservation in Britain, what would you prioritise and why?

I would make sure all our Important Plant Areas were fully protected and likewise National Nature Reserves. We are still losing and damaging so much and some places undoubtably deserve special protection. Conserving unique places should take priority while at the same time restoration of damaged and degraded areas at a wider landscape level is necessary and achievable.

Considering environmental issues as a whole. I would prioritise improving public transport. The response to charging for car use in cities like Cambridge where I live has been disappointing. Coupled with more frequent and reliable buses, charging would obviously cut down on congestion and pollution and enable people to get in and out of the city much more readily. Access would also be improved to some of the fabulous local nature reserves such as Hayley Wood and a personal favourite, Fulbourn Fen.

How do you feel about your input to the subject – what if anything has it achieved and would you do it differently if starting again today?

I was very fortunate to start out in nature conservation – the career I wanted to pursue – without a higher degree or unpaid internships. Like most individuals, what I have managed to achieve for nature conservation is minimal. If starting again I would try to understand how to communicate more effectively. Conservation messages can be off-putting and seem negative. I mistakenly thought that the increasing availability of information on, for example, threatened plants species would automatically lead to increased conservation awareness and action. Nevertheless, on a small scale the increased attention given to threatened tree species, within the wildlife community, is something I think I have helped to achieve.

I am not sure I would do anything radically differently careerwise. But I could have done more on a voluntary basis and should now that I have time. Also, I need to think more about how my personal choices impact the environment – particularly when it involves overseas travel.

Anything else you’d like to say?

I have met and learnt from so many interesting people tackling nature conservation in different ways and have been fortunate to be given opportunities to take on new challenges over the years. Thank you ECOS for providing a unique forum for nature conservation.

Cite:

oldfield, sara “ECOS Interviews: SARA OLDFIELD” ECOS vol. 2024 , British Association of Nature Conservationists, www.ecos.org.uk/ecos-interviews-sara-oldfield/.

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