Farming Rare Fauna?

Biodiversity is saved! A tiny number of England's farmers will be given taxpayer's money (the amount, as yet, undisclosed) to rewild their land (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/06/englands-farmers-to-be-paid-to-rewild-land). Farming is, of course, one of the biggest destroyers of biodiversity. The 'programme' involves initial bids for 10-15 'pilot projects', to be assessed over 2 years. Bids can involve 500-5000 hectares of land. They may involve full rewilding (presumably with no farming) or 'other forms of management, focusing on species recovery and wildlife habitats' (presumably farming, with some environmental remediation). Bids involving rare fauna like Curlews; Sand lizards and Water voles appear most likely to be successful. This last requirement is, perhaps, a bit short-sighted. Biodiversity really involves restoring the ecology of locations, rather than simply looking after 'preferred' species. The selection of pilots should also consider, what is already being done, for particular species by non-farming bodies such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Duplication of effort, when there is limited finance, would not constitute 'value for money'. The response of farmers to the proposals is clearly split. Some, already enthusiasts for wildlife, have welcomed the funding. They want to change the image of farming. Others have argued that, farming's primary business is maximising food production, and rewilding damages this. They worry about cheap imports being brought in to cover shortages. Finance is likely to dictate which response wins out? The proposal 'bigs up' the area of land likely to be involved (several times that of a large London park). This is, however, relatively miniscule.