Conservationists call for Lake District to lose Unesco world heritage status

Campaigners say designation promotes unsustainable sheep farming at expense of nature recovery and local communities

Conservationists have launched a campaign to revoke the Lake District's Unesco world heritage status, arguing that it promotes unsustainable sheep farming at the expense of nature recovery and local communities.

In a letter to Unesco, the ecologist Lee Schofield argues that the designation promotes a false perception of farming, is not economically sustainable, is working against crucial efforts to restore the natural environment and mitigate the impacts of climate change, does not help sustain farming livelihoods, is not wanted by local people and is contributing to damaging overtourism."