Soil quality 'important to economic prosperity'

Soil quality will play an important role in the long-term economic prosperity of the UK, it has been asserted.

Natural England made its claims as it published a new report entitled No Charge? Valuing the Natural Environment.

In the paper, the organisation stated that natural services offer a cost-effective solution to crop production issues such as coastal and flood defences, as well as water, air and soil quality.

Commenting, Helen Phillips, chief executive of Natural England, said that there is "enormous" value in the ecological solutions that the natural environment can provide.

"We need to recognise them as among the most highly efficient and cost-effective means of tackling a range of environmental, social and economic problems ... We cannot truly prosper without a healthy natural environment," she added.

Earlier this month, Jane Davidson, the Welsh minister for environment, sustainability and housing, welcomed research which indicated that air quality in the country is better than at any other point since the Industrial Revolution.

Posted by Lauren Steadman