Editorial comment

I recently had the pleasure of exploring one of the United Kingdom’s largest and most well-preserved historical sites, Hadrian’s Wall. The view from Housesteads Fort on the wall was breath-taking as the wall stretched from east to west, winding its way through the ruggedly beautiful Northumberland National Park.

This area of the UK is a world heritage site, a national park, and therefore a major tourist attraction. As a result, it is vitally important that the area is protected to preserve its beauty and history – particularly after the tragic felling of the Sycamore Gap tree in September last year. A variety of organisations are doing what they can to protect the heritage and environment in the Northumberland National Park. For example, this year English Heritage will invest about £100 000 in repairs to key parts of Hadrian’s Wall, starting at Birdoswald, which is home to one of 16 Roman forts along the wall. Work will go into keeping footpaths clear, boundary fences strong and the Roman remains intact.¹ In addition to this, the National Trust and Northumberland National Park Authority have been working alongside Historic England, and the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership to ensure a fitting legacy for both nature and people following the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree. The organisations are exploring new ways to support tree planting and habitat creation, with an initial focus on the Hadrian’s Wall landscape.²

Despite a demand for tourism, action is being taken to preserve a site that holds significant historical and environmental importance. Historically, the oil and gas industry has come under criticism for the damage it has caused to both the environment and heritage sites across the globe.

However, more recently, the oil and gas industry has been making strides to mitigate its impact on heritage and the environment. For example, UNESCO welcomed confirmation from French-based oil and gas corporation Total that it will refrain from prospecting or exploiting oil and gas in natural sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, saying this was an encouraging sign for World Heritage conservation.³ There are also encouraging signs from the North Sea. Equinor supports the global ambition of reversing nature loss by 2030 and has its own ‘no harm to the environment’ ethos. For example, the Norwegian company will not undertake any industrial activity in UNESCO World Heritage sites or areas classified under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Ia ‘Strict Nature Reserve’ or Ib ‘Wilderness Area’.⁴ In addition to this, Equinor maps and reports potential significant direct biodiversity impacts and dependencies from operations and in key supply chains as well as establishing site-specific inventory of important biodiversity features for existing sites and consider additional conservation measures.⁵

Protecting heritage sites and the environment, as seen with efforts at Hadrian’s Wall, is crucial, and the oil industry’s commitment to conservation plays a vital role in preserving these invaluable natural and historical treasures for future generations.

Editorial comment

Jack Roscoe - Editorial Assistant