What have giant pandas got to do with the Lake District? That’s not a Christmas cracker teaser but a genuine question which has bamboozled some.
It follows the unexpected announcement that the Lake District National Park Authority is going into partnership with the Giant Panda National Park in China.
The unforeseen link-up was revealed by Richard Leafe, chief executive of the authority, who said talks were advanced and it was “an opportunity to share learning”.
The new park spans three massive provinces in the Communist-run People’s Republic, and includes 67 panda reserves, home to around 1,800 of the bamboo-chewing animals whose surprise recovery has seen their risk rating go from endangered to vulnerable.
Tony Lywood, a Keswick councillor and an outspoken critic of the LDNPA, branded the link-up “embarrassing tripe”.
“It will produce absolutely nothing and I hope this will not be an excuse for jollies for senior members of the Lake District National Park Authority to a country whose human rights record is disgraceful,” said Mr Lywood. “I am appalled that this is even being considered.”
Representatives for Mr Leafe, based in Kendal, declined to address what officers based in Cumbria – where the badger is regarded as the largest predator – could contribute to the conservation effort to save the panda.
Mr Leafe did clarify there are no direct formal commitments or costs associated with the partnership, which also includes the national park covering Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.
Mr Leafe said: “This is a great opportunity to both share our collective experience, learn from them, provide development opportunities for staff and support the Government in developing relations with China over environmental policy.”
The UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also encouraged and facilitated closer collaboration, he added, also saying there had been no political dimension to the work proposed, which was purely environmental.
Mr Lywood is unconvinced. He said: “This is embarrassing tripe. The Lake District National Park should concentrate on its core purpose which is to conserve the park and the landscape and communities within it.
“As far as I know pandas are neither indigenous or have anything to do with the Lake District National Park. It is the sort of stupid nonsense that increases the view that the park authority is distant and has no relevance to anyone that lives within it.”
