The new chairman of English Nature has described how the foot and mouth outbreak gives farmers an opportunity to end overgrazing and other practices that damage the environment.

In an exclusive ePolitix.com interview, Martin Doughty voiced his concerns that "the condition of wildlife in the uplands is not good in some sites. Some are in poor condition".

As English Nature publish their report on upland areas, Doughty described how different areas will require different solutions, with management and overgrazing being important factors and climate change and pollution having a longer-term impact.

Doughty also highlighted English Nature's recommendations for the uplands: "What we propose to do particularly, is to 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," he told ePolitix.

Doughty also said he would like English Nature to play a bigger pro-active role in supporting the wider economy, particularly the rural economy.

With the next general election approaching, Doughty called for political parties to recognise the need for "fundamental change" in support for farmers from the Common Agricultural Policy.

There "needs to be a switch away from production subsidies to support for land management, which is in tune with good environmental practice," he said.

Commenting on climate change, Doughty also expressed concern over the position of President Bush, whose administration announced in March that it would not implement the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse 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," said Doughty.