Stand up for Nature

CONSERVATION GROUPS UNITE TO ASK UK GOVERNMENT TO '#RESTORE NATURE NOW'

Individual scientists, conservationists and environmentalists joined over 40 of the UK's leading conservation and wildlife charities including the Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, WWF UK, Butterfly Conservation, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Froglife, Bat Conservation Trust etc., as they peacefully came together on 28th September 2023 to call on the politicians of all parties to 'act now' to halt our unrelenting loss of wildlife!

As one of the charities said, >"It's an unusual move for Butterfly Conservation (and many of the other organisations) to take to the street in this way, but one that is symbolic of the crisis our nature faces, and the lack of action our leaders have taken to prevent it."

The largest protest, organised by wildlife tv presenter and conservationist Chris Packham, which took place outside the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) offices in London, was held in response to the devastating findings of the latest 'State of Nature Report' made public on the same day. Let by the RSPB and supported by more than 60 conservation and research organisations, the State of Nature Report 2023 is the latest report to chart the continued decline of British wildlife, revealing that in England, Scotland and Wales, almost 1,500 species are now at risk of being completely lost, whilst in Northern Ireland 281 face a similar fate. (You can read the full report HERE).

Calling for broad and rapid action ahead of the protest, Chris Packham explained: "We're dissatisfied with the investment going into nature restoration and recovery in the UK (and) not meeting our biodiversity targets ... The State of Nature report tells us that the state of nature in the UK is terrible."

"But within that very good report, there is hope. Because where we focus our endeavours, where we've got good financial backing, where we've got the skills and time to implement that, then we can make a difference. But we're just simply not doing it broadly enough and rapidly enough and in order to do that we need government assistance."

There were powerful speeches outside DEFRA from many of representatives of the organisations present and individuals, highlighting the facts that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. But they also shared messages of hope that focused on positive results where conservation work has been focused and species' fortunes have been turned around (as also illustrated in the State of Nature report). All agreed that we need this conservation action to be on a far greater scale and at a far more urgent pace.

You can help by getting in touch with your elected representative for parliament and asking them to act for nature now. Visit RSPB's 'Nature Can't Wait' page HERE for more details. As Chris Packham said, "Because nature doesn't have a voice, but we do. Nature can't act, but we must."