Help to Defend Nature

The UK Government is seriously threatening our wildlife - there's every urgency to defend nature as new policies threaten nature, climate and food security

There is much anger about UK Government's plans to change nature and climate laws - and we are asking you to help #DefendNature.

Nature has really taken a battering - in the last week alone, UK Government has:

Announced the Retained EU Law Bill – threatening to revoke hundreds of laws that protect wild places and ensure standards for water quality, pollution and the use of pesticides
Announced a new planning and infrastructure bill as well as investment zones as part of the growth plan, which threaten to weaken vital protections for habitats and wildlife
Launched a ‘review’ of the long-awaited Environmental Land Management schemes – which were meant to reward farmers for restoring nature, preventing pollution from entering rivers and climate-proofing their businesses
Lifted a ban on fracking in England, despite there being no evidence that proves fracking is safe

These go against the explicit promises the Conservative Party made in their 2019 manifesto and the mandate they were elected to govern on.

We are asking members, supporters and the wider public to help defend nature by contacting MPs and local councillors – both online and in person – to voice concerns over new Government proposals.

Brian Eversham CEO WTBCN says: "“It has been a very worrying few days for anyone who cares about nature and our countryside. Weakening planning rules, treating wildlife and a clean save environment as a 'burden', threatening habitat protections and raising questions over the future of one of the most important changes to the way farmers are paid to protect nature, soil and the climate – these would be signs of a Government throwing away its plans to protect the environment.

"So-called 'Investment Zones' and 'Freeports', covering over half of England, would remove local accountability for development planning and give more power to big business. Here in our region we are already hearing that our members and supporters are angry and are writing to their MPs to make their views known - and we back them 100%. We all need a healthy, thriving environment and nature cannot defend itself so we must stand up and speak loudly and clearly on this issue.”

Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts, says: “Nature is under attack from a raft of dangerous decisions by Government and we know people are furious at the new threats. 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. The Government’s Food Security Report 2021 identified climate change and biodiversity loss as the biggest threats to food production in future – so farming in harmony with nature must be encouraged – yet the Government wants deregulation that’ll lead to yet more poo in rivers, less wildlife and land that’s unable to adapt to climate change.

“We are calling on the public to contact their elected representatives and share just how concerned they are. These actions will affect us all – the communities where we live, our wild places, food security, and our futures. The climate and nature crises pose monumental challenges, and recent proposals by this Government will only make things worse.”

BCN on Channel 4 News alongside RSPB and National Trust.