‘We are a nature depleted nation’

THE description by Elizabeth Porter (Sentinel, October 12) of the feelings of sadness and alarm caused by the cutting down of trees near to her home in Forsbrook was hugely powerful.

Even more so when reading it a couple of days after the Natural History Museum published research showing that global biodiversity has slipped below the recognised ‘safe level’ of 90 per cent and now stands at 75 per cent.

In the UK, things are even worse with the country now recognised as one of the most ‘nature depleted’ in the world. Our current biodiversity level stands at 50 per cent, comparing poorly to that of countries like Canada and Finland that manage above 80 per cent.

When we do harm to the natural world, as we have over the past three centuries due to industrialisation and intensive agriculture, we add to the forces driving climate change that may soon become unstoppable.

We also do harm to our wellbeing as individuals and as a wider society, something Elizabeth Porter describes very eloquently in her letter.

Dire though the picture presented by this, and the recent report published by the UN committee on climate change is, we have the technical ability and, for now, the time to turn things around.

What is needed now is recognition of the size of the problem on the part of local and national government, along with a determination to lead a sustained and coordinated response.

One place to start might be protecting trees like those in Forsbrook, rather than cutting them down simply because they are deemed too costly to maintain.

ADAM COLCLOUGH PENKHULL