Britain's national parks are a farce: they're being run for a tiny minority | George Monbiot

Dismal, empty and burnt to a crisp - these spaces are not for the benefit of the nation. We need to reclaim and rewild themVisit any national park in Britain and ask yourself what you are seeing. Is it the "wild", "unspoilt" landscape the brochures and display boards promised? Or is it eerily bereft of wildlife and rich ecosystems? Is it managed in the interests of the nation or for a tiny, privileged minority? I suspect that if we saw such places called national parks in another country, we would recognise them for what they are: a complete farce.One of the reasons for this dire state is burning. Much of the land in our national parks is systematically burned, with the blessing of the agencies supposed to protect it. This vandalism is sometimes justified as a "conservation tool", but it bears as much relationship to the conservation of wildlife as burning libraries bears to the conservation of books. So weird has our engagement with nature in this country become that we can no longer tell the difference between protection and destruction. Continue reading...