People in the UK see ourselves as nature lovers. But decades of poor planning, neglect and lack of investment have left our islands in a sorry state.
The UK is one of the worst places for nature in the world, coming in a lowly 228th out of 240 nations and regions rated for their biodiversity.
A shocking 20% of species are dwindling across the UK, with many on the brink of extinction and populations shrinking at an ever faster rate with each year that passes.
Sadly, the rest of the world is heading in the same direction. There’s no hiding from the truth. We are speeding towards a human-inflicted mass extermination event that will take our species down with it. We need to act right now, to save nature.
Years of neglect mean we are now at a tipping point, with the next decade being critical for the future of life on Earth.
The United Nations says countries around the world must commit to safeguarding a minimum of 30% of land and sea to ensure environmental recovery by 2030.
In the UK, just 5% of land and very little of our seas are dedicated to the effective protection and management of nature.
The UK alone needs an investment of £56 billion over the next 10 years to reverse our environmental decline.
To put that into perspective, that’s less than the government spent on supporting workers on furlough during the pandemic. Make no mistake - the need to shell out for environmental recovery is even more urgent.
After Liz Truss and Kwasi Karteng’s disastrous mini budget, Jeremy Hunt has announced increased taxes and cuts in spending, which the government says is necessary.
But I truly believe nothing is more important than protecting the natural world that sustains us.
If we lose the plants that nourish us, the butterflies and bees that pollinate our fields, meadows and forests, and the birds and animals that all form part of the miraculous complexity of our planet, all the savings and “austerity” will be for nothing.
We’re talking about saving life on Earth. That means investment and action. We can’t just sit back and hope for the best as nature steadily declines around us.
After a COP27 climate conference where world leaders failed to commit to temperature targets, world leaders are now set to meet in Montreal, Canada, to explore a deal to protect nature at the COP15 Convention on Biological Diversity.
Scientists and campaigners have warned that “there is no pathway to limiting global warming to 1.5C without action on protecting and restoring nature”.
They’re right: healthy and diverse plants and animals, from the Brazilian rainforests to English meadows, are vital in the for the planet.
The meeting has already been delayed for two years because of the pandemic, putting critical decisions around the world on hold. We need commitments to set 2030 goals that will prevent extinctions, recover species populations, and retain and restore habitats.
It’s heartening to see young people rally round this issue and take part in a “human murmuration” dance to support the UK’s leading conservation charities in their campaign on this issue. Even more so since they are the generation that will suffer the most from the loss of nature unless action is taken.
The dance they have created makes me think of the way birds flock together to move as one and serves as an inspiration for world leaders to work together to produce a global plan to save nature at COP15.
It’s time for our politicians to take on the urgent conversation we need to save nature. And the UK needs to take the lead. Rishi Sunak needs to show he takes biodiversity seriously, attend COP15 in Montreal, and strike a deal to save nature.
Chris Packham is supporting the Urgent Conversation, a campaign launched by a coalition of leading conservation charities including the RSPB, that is calling for the Prime Minister to lead in securing a nature positive deal at COP15. People can sign the petition to the PM and call for action at https://urgentconversation.org/
