Close your eyes, picture your most favourite natural space to visit in the UK, the place you run to when you need that essential dose of nature, your breathing space, your grounding place. Is it an urban greenspace, local park, are there trees, rolling fields, a river? Can you hear birdsong, the hum of insects, the bustle of others enjoying nature too?
Now imagine that the very existence of your special nature space is suddenly, and without warning, threatened. That the government that has pledged to halt the decline in nature is now directly attacking it. How does that make you feel – sad, shocked, angry?
Government’s attack on nature
And now we, the RSPB, are calling on people across Yorkshire and beyond – across the whole of the UK in fact – to help sound the alarm to protect the wildlife they love, by contacting their local MPs and making themselves heard.
To be honest with you, since Thursday evening, when the UK Government detailed its plans to “sunset” the vital laws that protect our special natural spaces (that’s legal speak for ‘delete’), I have been on a roller coaster of emotions.
We are used to governments not doing enough for nature (if they did, England would not be one of the most nature-depleted countries on earth) and we are used to them promising high and delivering low (they have been promising to leave nature in a better state than they found it for years, and yet, as the State of Nature report makes clear, over 41% of species in the UK have been in decline since the 1970s).
But what I and my colleagues were not expecting was that a government which has made much of its role as a ‘world leader’ in committing to protect 30% of our land and seas by 2030, and has given itself a legally binding target to halt the decline in the abundance of species (also by 2030) would – in the space of 72 hours – destroy any chance of doing so, and instead lock in further catastrophic declines.
For all who care about nature and understand it’s vital role in underpinning both our economy and our wellbeing, this is as frightening as it is shocking.
Timeline of nature’s proposed destruction by the government so far…
- Thursday 22 September – government set out details of plans to amend or scrap crucial environmental laws. These laws include the Habitat Regulations that protect some of our most vulnerable wildlife and green places across England. They also defend our clean water, clean air, clean beaches, and rivers.
- Friday 23 September – the government announced further plans to create at least 38 ‘investment zones’ which could trash planning rules – meaning housing and commercial developments could be allowed to damage nature with little or no restriction.
- Saturday/Sunday 24–25 September – rumours began circulating that the government is also set to scrap a vital scheme that would have ensured that the public money needed to support our farmers and landowners would be given in exchange for the delivery of public goods – helping nature, creating space for rare wildlife and their homes, using their land to absorb carbon and work towards net zero. All of this is critical for our long-term food security. Farmers are some of nature’s greatest champions. But they aren’t rewarded at the till for the work they do for nature. We will never recover threatened species without them and the right schemes that ensure they are supported to do the right things for nature.
A heavy price to pay
Just one of these decisions happening would be a disaster for wildlife, but all three together, without consideration, scrutiny, or debate, amounts to one of the most brazen attacks on nature we have ever seen.
Why, at a time when we need nature most, and nature needs us, is the government setting us all up to fail? If we don’t have a healthy, functioning ecosystem or a stable climate, our businesses won’t succeed and there will be no growth. The environment isn’t an optional extra we can think about later – it is what our lives and our very survival, depend on. This is why I – and so many others – are angry.
As of now, our wildlife is facing its greatest threat for decades. For many of our vulnerable species, this attack from the UK Government will be the final nail in the coffin. From Cornwall to Cumbria, Norfolk to Nottingham, and across Yorkshire, the government is risking the homes of vulnerable wildlife including otters, birds, dolphins, and bats.
How you can help – next steps
The government has launched an attack on Yorkshire’s wildlife, and the places you love. But there is hope because together, we can bring a halt to nature’s destruction. The outpouring of love, support, and shared anger from our supporters over the past few days has been overwhelming, very humbling, and has brought many of us at the RSPB to tears, including myself.
Right now, rippling out across our shires, towns, seas, and cities there is a groundswell of anger – that this cannot and must not come to pass. The RSPB and our supporters, along with others including the National Trust, the Wildlife Trusts, and the Campaign for National Parks, are drawing a line in the sand and together we are standing firm and declaring to the UK Government that enough is enough.
Nature deserves better, we deserve better, and there is a moral, an ethical and an economic imperative for government to act to save nature. So now we have one simple ask: tell your MP how you feel. Don’t let the government do this in your name.
Nature needs you now, more than ever.
To find out how to help, and how to contact your local MP, visit our website.
