Question: You're starting as the new chairman of English Nature, what will be your top priorities for the organisation?

Martin Doughty: English Nature has some very significant statutory functions, which, of course must carry on, but what I would like to steer the organisation towards is playing a bigger pro-active part in supporting the wider economy, particularly the rural economy.

Question: What effects have foot and mouth had on the rural economy?

Martin Doughty: Foot and mouth has shown that the rural economy outside of agriculture in many areas of the country is a far more significant part of the economy, particularly in terms of jobs, than agriculture itself. And I think there is a case for English Nature getting quite heavily involved with partners in, for instance, looking at how much tourism can be enhanced. English Nature's role includes changing hearts and minds. It is much more than conserving things and keeping people away from them. We have got greater access coming, the Countryside and Rights of Way legislation, and we can perhaps be more proactive in helping the rural economy to benefit from that.

Question: Is the Countryside and Rights of Way Act going to pose any problems in terms of nature and conservation?

Martin Doughty: I don't anticipate any major problems because of course, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act in part three was actually strengthening the management of designated areas like sites of special scientific interest. English Nature was involved throughout in the development of the access component of the legislation and I think it is reasonably comfortable with the outcome.

Question: What is your assessment of the state of wildlife in England at present?

Martin Doughty: It is variable, and one of the particular reasons for the launch on Tuesday of the Uplands work, is that it is in the Uplands work we have some of the biggest concerns.

Question: What are your concerns for the uplands?

Martin Doughty: The condition of wildlife in the uplands is not good in some sites. Some are in poor condition.

Question: Why?

Martin Doughty: There are different answers for different sites. It is partly due to the management of uplands and the inability to deal with issues like overgrazing. In the longer term, there are climate change issues and to some extent pollution issues which all have played a part.

Question: So what do you propose to do?

Martin Doughty: What we propose to do particularly, is try to get an outcome from foot and mouth which sees the end of the disease as an opportunity to do things differently. Some agricultural practices have led to overgrazing and other outcomes which are at odds with the nature conservation interests. Some upland farming has financial support mechanisms at odds with the biodiversity interests. We need to have mechanisms for support for farmers to do the sort of things that support biodiversity and, incidentally support rural tourism. I would like to get to the point of linking those together.

Question: Is biodiversity something that you personally are passionate about?

Martin Doughty: Maintaining and improving biodiversity is obviously a crucial part of English Nature's responsibilities. I certainly would want to see improving biodiversity, getting a greater understanding of it and encouraging agricultural support to work to enhance it.

Question: What is your response to people who argue that biodiversity can be regarded as a case of over protectionist?

Martin Doughty: I am not sure what that means. The opposite I assume of biodiversity is that we end up with a natural system that gets reduced in quality to something that seems to me to be totally alien to what most people would say is a sensible way of going about things in a developed society. Biodiversity has economic value as well.

Question: Where does biodiversity sit with something like GM crops for instance?

Martin Doughty: GM crops is an area where English Nature has had a robust position. It said that we must make sure that things have been tested properly, that there are full trials and that the nature conservation interests are paramount in the way that those trials are carried out and in the way that we interpret the results.

Question: And you are confident that is happening?

Martin Doughty: This is a complex area, and the scientists at English Nature, who are highly competent in this area have given a good lead on GMO and are reasonably happy that what is being progressed at the moment is appropriate.

Question: Are you concerned about the issue of climate change and do you think it is something that the political parties or politicians in general are really getting to grips with?

Martin Doughty: There are two aspects to that. One is are we as a country and as a global community getting to grips with it, and on the assumption that seems to be well founded in science, that climate change is being to a great extent induced by our use of fossil fuels and emissions of CO2 and other gases. While the UK has been quite courageous and worked hard on the European and world stage, what we are seeing from Bush in America is really bad news. There needs to be urgent discussions at world level to try to get America back to a position which is certainly more helpful.

The other issue of climate change which is particularly important to English Nature is how we deal with the consequences of it, because it is happening. There is lots of evidence of it in terms of world climate and our climate. That will mean for instance that, species may migrate northwards, which means that some species that are rare in the UK might become quite common in the south, and others that are perhaps common in the north may become very scarce. And we need to recognise that that process will happen, and if there is a particular species in an area which is moving north, we need to allow it to move north, rather than simply try to protect it in an environment that is no longer suiting it.

Question: What proposals would you like to see in the parties' election manifestos regarding nature and conservation issues?

Martin Doughty: I think it is in the area of fundamental change in agricultural support in the Common Agricultural Policy to give a commitment that farmers' incomes are dependent upon good environmental practice. And that really needs to be a switch away from production subsidies to support for land management, which is in tune with good environmental practice.

Question: Would you support a department for rural affairs?

Martin Doughty: I am not sure that I do support a department of rural affairs. I think there is a danger it will be marginalised, there is a danger it would be just an extension of the ministry of agriculture, fisheries and food. There are other models that are being floated around, such as from the IPPR. If MAFF is to be abolished, the options will need to have careful scrutiny.