Western Morning News (Saturday)
Our national disgrace can be turned into pride
A new report shows the UK is the least effective G7 member at protecting nature. Emma Marsh, Director, RSPB England, reflects on what this means ahead of next month’s summit in Cornwall
ANEW report this week from the RSPB and Natural History Museum, published ahead of the UK-hosted G7 Summit in Cornwall next month, shows the perilous state of nature in the UK.
In a comparison of countries, the report found that human activity has destroyed more of the wildlife in the UK than in any of its G7 partners, and globally the UK is the twelfth worst of 240 countries and territories. And, within the UK, England is bottom of the class in terms of the four countries. It’s not a good look. In fact, it’s a national disgrace!
Using the Biological Intactness Indicator (BII), an internationally approved scientific measurement of the impact of human activity on plants, animals and landscapes, scientists can judge the damage to nature in different countries. The UK has a score of just 50%, which means it has retained only half of its plants and animals, compared with 65% for France, 67%, for Germany and 89% for Canada, which is among the best countries or territories worldwide for retaining its natural biodiversity.
The new league table is the latest in a growing body of scientific reports that highlights the urgent need for action from the governments of the UK in order to halt and reverse declines in wildlife and protecting the environment. In 2019 the State of Nature Report revealed 41% of UK species were in decline and more than one in ten were at risk of extinction, when compared with the BII assessment it becomes clear that the UK is at a tipping point where, if nothing is done, we will have lost more than we have left.
So, what is to be done? First, it’s important for everyone to realise that the nature crisis is not something far away, but it is happening all around us, including here in the West Country, a region that often trades on the quality of its natural environment.
Second, we know Government is talking a good game with regards to nature. We hear warm words about the amount of land that will be restored for nature. About Nature Recovery Networks, about trees and peatlands and so on.
But we are not yet seeing rhetoric being translated into action, or even proper commitment. Now we’ve left the EU, our politicians are entirely responsible for writing our environmental legislation and policies, and they have promised world-leading protections.
However, the Environment Bill, new transformative legislation that could put nature’s recovery back on track in the UK, is not yet fit for purpose. It does not yet, for instance, commit the government to short-term legally binding targets on nature. It’s great that we have long-term goals of course, but we are in a Nature and Climate Emergency and need immediate action. This is why the RSPB and others are campaigning for a “State of Nature” amendment to secure a target that halts and begins to reverse declines in nature by 2030.
We see a lack of ambition for nature in the reform of agricultural policy. The current proposals for the Sustainable Farming Incentive lack ambition and provide little incentive for farmers to break free from the status quo. We know many farmers want to do their bit for nature and deserve proper sup
The nature crisis is not something far away, but is happening here EMMA MARSH, RSPB
port. And we see nature potentially under pressure in the new Planning Bill. This legislation has been widely touted as a “developers charter”, but it’s essential that a new planning system for England is fit for the Nature and Climate emergency. We need stronger and not weaker protections for nature in all areas, including through a new planning designation to safeguard land specifically for nature’s recovery. We also need fitfor-purpose environmental assessment processes to prevent harm to nature from new developments. It is also important that new developments are built with nature in mind and contribute towards the provision of green space accessible to local communities.
Finally, we see our most important places, those formally designated for their nature importance, failing to provide the homes nature needs because they aren’t being cared for. Fixing this requires investment in funds to enable landowners to manage land for nature. But crucially, it also requires advice, support, and sometimes enforcement from a wellresourced Natural England.
Ultimately it is the government that is accountable for making sure nature thrives on our protected sites. In terms of preventing declines, protecting the best, and restoring the rest – this is one area where the government can make the biggest impact for nature. Protected sites, starting with the Sites of Special Scientific Interest, must be the backbone of nature recovery in England, and their condition one of the key measures of success.
Every ten years we join the international community in agreeing 20 goals and targets for the next decade. We failed to achieve 17 of these between 2010 and 2020. If we are to avoid repeating this international embarrassment in 2030 it is down to our Prime Minister to set us up for success and show us the plan to revive our world. The public should not be denied a world rich in nature through government inaction.
Through the Prime Minister, the UK has been bringing together world leaders to commit to saving nature globally. UK-led initiatives like the Leader’s Pledge have highlighted the urgent need to respond to the nature emergency, and the environment is set to feature at the UK hosted G7 meeting in June as an important scene-setter for the upcoming UN COPs on biodiversity and climate.
The RSPB is calling for the government to bring in legislation and take real action that delivers on our ambition to protect and restore the natural world here on our doorstep and provide a blueprint for delivering on the UK’s world-leading commitments. Let’s turn disgrace into pride in looking after nature.
‘The public should not be denied a world rich in nature through Government inaction’