NATURE is in crisis. The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth and almost half our species are in decline. The economy, our food security and our own health are all dependent on a thriving natural environment. Yet in recent weeks, we have seen the UK government launch an unprecedented attack on nature and the laws that protect it.
As part of a bid to do away with EU-derived legislation by the end of 2023, the government appears fixed on . These include the habitats regulations that protect some of the most vulnerable wildlife and important green places across England.
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Hundreds of other laws, including those designed to ensure clean water in our rivers and seas, are similarly under threat. News reports over the past few months highlighted the damage that and pollution continue to inflict on our beaches and waterways. Now is the time to strengthen legal protections, not do away with them.
Separate plans to create at least 38 in England are just as concerning. The plan involves 鈥渓iberalising planning frameworks to encourage rapid development鈥� 鈥� an undefined relaxation of planning rules that I believe could constitute another massive threat to our already depleted wildlife.
A new English payments scheme that would have supported farmers and landowners to enhance nature, create space for rare species and habitats, and use land to absorb carbon and work towards net zero is also set to be reviewed despite five years of hard work drawing it up. About 72 per cent of UK land is managed for agriculture. As a result, our ability to successfully restore nature hinges on creating a system that rewards farmers for managing land in a way that both enables the sustainable production of healthy food and supports the natural environment.
All these developments fly in the face of the Environment Act, introduced by the previous Conservative government, which contains a welcome legal obligation to halt species decline by 2030. This policy flip-flopping also calls into question the UK鈥檚 ability and desire to meet its international commitments.
We are now just two months from the start of the global Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties 15 in Montreal, Canada, where the UK will commit to a joint target for 30 per cent of the world鈥檚 land and seas being looked after for nature by 2030. The UK government鈥檚 pledges and its actions now appear completely at odds.
There is precious little time left to restore nature, halt biodiversity declines and repair the damage done to the natural world. At conservation charity the RSPB we are clear, as are our partners in the conservation sector, that the time for action is now.
The roots of the are as a campaigning organisation. In the late-19th century, three women joined together to successfully end the use of birds鈥� feathers in the enormous fashion trade. Their determination to stand up for nature against the odds is what continues to drive the RSPB today. With the UK government seemingly intent on weakening or scrapping crucial environmental protections, that campaigning spirit is needed more than ever.
Some have been surprised by the of our reaction to these announcements, but the scale of the threat warrants nothing less than a robust response. We are angry, and we are not alone. That anger is shared by nature lovers across the country, from all walks of life and across political divides. Millions of people up and down the UK are ready to make their voices heard and take action to protect the wildlife they love.
Beccy Speight is the聽chief executive of聽the RSPB. Follow her @鈥孊eccyRSPB
