Read the texts and match the heading to the texts. There is one that you do not need to use.
Write one number in each gap.
The advantages of the green belt
The consequence of green belt development
Helping the animals and plants
The purpose of the green belt
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A. The green belt is intended to stop further growth of large built-up areas (sprawl), to prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another, and to preserve the special character of towns. Inside a green belt, approval should neither be given, except in very special circumstances, for the construction of new buildings, or for the change of use of existing buildings, nor for purposes other than agriculture, sport, cemeteries, institutions standing in extensive grounds, or other uses appropriate to a rural area.
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B. The main benefit of protected areas relates to the purpose of the protection — avoiding urban sprawl. Urban sprawl has multiple economic costs, including increased travel costs, increased tax burdens due to more expensive roads, increased car use leading to higher air pollution, increased health care costs for diseases like asthma, and loss of productive farmland and natural lands that support tourism. Two-thirds of all green belt land is in agricultural use. So, the green belt is a vital economic resource for food security and soil protection.
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C. Wildlife is under threat on many fronts. Over the past 50 years, it has been seen declines in two-thirds of the UK's plant and animal species, for a range of reasons, including loss of habitat. Many of our common species — hedgehogs, sparrows, starlings and common frogs, for example — are increasingly endangered. Green belt land is important because it's home to a variety of species — it provides a place to live for many animals and creates corridors through which they can move between cities and towns and the surrounding countryside. If the green belt land is built on, many animals and plants will lose their homes and may die.