6 minute read

Yesterday, I was asked to give an interview on BBC Spotlight, responding to the so-called ‘attack on nature’. It would be my first media appearance as Chief Executive of Cornwall Wildlife Trust – and it’s unlikely to be my last. I haven’t been here long – there’s nothing like jumping in at the deep end – but I was glad to do it for a cause I believe in.

This attack on nature is serious. In this blog I want to explain why, as simply as I can. And I’ll also suggest what you can do to add your voice to #DefendNature. 

Help us #DefendNature

What has caused the outrage?

It would be hard to miss the tones of outrage from The Wildlife Trusts and various other conservation charities over the last few days. So, what has caused us to raise our voices to speak out against what we are calling an attack on nature?

Over the last few days, the Government has:

• Announced the Retained EU Law Bill. This is important because it threatens to repeal 570 environmental laws. For decades, these laws have existed to protect wild places and ensure standards for water quality, pollution and the use of pesticides.
• Announced a new planning and infrastructure bill introducing ‘investment zones’. The problem here is that in these zones environmental protections would be relaxed to encourage more development.
• Launched a ‘review’ of the long-awaited Environmental Land Management schemes. These were meant to reward farmers for restoring nature, preventing pollution from entering rivers and climate-proofing their businesses.

It is vital to see these announcements in the context in which they are being made. This Conservative Government was elected in 2019 on a manifesto pledge to deliver the ‘most ambitious environmental programme of any country on earth’. The weakening of vital environmental protections is a 180-degree U-turn on that promise. This Government has no mandate to do so.

What has been the response?

I have found it heartening to see numerous different environmental charities speaking in such similar tones on this issue. The RSPB, the National Trust, Wildlife and Countryside Link and, of course, The Wildlife Trusts are all calling on their members to #DefendNature. According to the Guardian, together we have a reach of 15 million members.

I have also been struck by the language of the concerns raised. ‘Make no mistake,’ says the RSPB’s news feature, ‘we are angry’. Surfers Against Sewage are even more obvious in theirs: ‘WE ARE ANGRY.’

And I understand the anger. There is anger here at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, too. But behind this anger is another emotion. Anxiety. At Cornwall Wildlife Trust – together with The Wildlife Trusts and other environmental charities across the UK – we are extremely worried about these announcements. They present serious threats to nature, climate and food security.

They amount to an attack on nature.

The Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts, Craig Bennett, says: ‘Vital legal protections for wildlife are at risk, fossil fuel extraction is being favoured over renewables, and the Government is going back on plans to reward farmers for managing land in a nature-friendly way.’

In short, this is serious.

There is also a sense that such an attack on nature is unprecedented. Joan Edwards, Director of Policy at The Wildlife Trusts, writes that ‘this is the most destructive set of policies I have seen in over 35 years of working in nature conservation.’

I have been involved in nature conservation for almost that long and I can honestly say the same.

Joan continues: ‘Pursuing a dangerous agenda of deregulation will push much-loved species such as water voles and hedgehogs to the brink of extinction even faster than we’d feared. We depend on the natural world for everything from clean water to food – this has to be respected.’

Why should we be so concerned in Cornwall?

Nature isn’t an optional extra, we need it in so many ways - to lift our spirits, boost our health and wellbeing, support our farming and fishing and regulate our climate. Nature underpins so many aspects of our lives. Yet, nature is in trouble.

Back in 2020, Cornwall Wildlife Trust worked on our first State of Nature Cornwall Report. It was made using the best available data for local wildlife. Together with Cornwall Council and the University of Exeter, we highlighted trends in the abundance and distribution of species and habitats and identified the key pressures wildlife is facing.

Some of the findings are deeply concerning. ‘Nature is in decline in Cornwall. Over the last 30 years, nearly half of terrestrial mammals and three-fifths of butterflies are found in fewer places... Whilst a few species have prospered, it is clear that an ecological emergency is unfolding.’

And there’s more. ‘Nearly half of [all] breeding birds have declined.’ Just take a moment to think about that. Nearly half. In thirty years.

It is against this backdrop that our Government has launched its attack on nature. The uncertain future of the Environment Land Management Scheme (ELMS), which was devised to encourage farmers to pursue nature-friendly farming and create spaces for rare species, is deeply concerning when so much of Cornwall is made up of farmland. The watering down of planning rules threatens to create nature-free zones where people live and work. The removal of environmental legislation on habitats, water quality, pollution and more, would be devastating across the whole county, both on land and in the sea.

Turning anger and anxiety into response

There is no doubt that these announcements represent the weakening of protections that safeguard nature, despite some in government claiming the opposite.

We believe, for example, that reversing plans to support nature-friendly farming would be devastating. Healthy nature and secure food production go hand in hand – our farm advisors at Cornwall Wildlife Trust see this every day in their work with farmers. In fact, many people in the farming community are equally dismayed by the UK Government's stance. Our specialist staff work to support farmers, working together to benefit long-term food production and biodiversity.

The Government’s announcements are putting our most precious local wildlife sites at serious risk. But if we simply sit around, having angry and anxious conversations we will achieve nothing. It doesn’t matter how indignant we are. We have to do something.

I believe we need to defend nature by doing all we can to urge the Prime Minister and the Government to put a stop to this attack and to clarify how protections and incentives for wildlife and the environment will be upheld in any changes to policy or legislation that they propose to make. Now is not the time to be rolling back environmental commitments. Instead, we must accelerate action to protect and restore our nature, our climate, and our futures.

Nature needs your help

At Cornwall Wildlife Trust we are asking our staff, our volunteers, our members and the wider public to defend nature by contacting MPs and local councillors – both online and in person – to voice concerns over new Government proposals.

It’s easy to get in touch with your local MP or councillor – and it’s a simple action every single one of us can take. It can even be as simple as Tweeting your MP. Visit our #DefendNature page and follow our four steps to take action.

Together we can show that the there is a strength of feeling amongst the public about this attack on nature. Together we can provide the momentum needed for change.

Help us #DefendNature