Tag Archives: State of Nature 2019

UK is ‘least effective’ G7 country at protecting nature

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From BirdGuides

A new report from the RSPB, using data compiled by the Natural History Museum, has been published ahead of the G7 Summit in Cornwall in June and shows the appalling state of nature in the UK.

The UK is listed as the worst nation in the G7 for the volume of wildlife and wild spaces lost due to human activity, resulting in it being ranked twelfth worst of 240 countries and territories.

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 protect and restore the environment. Using the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), an internationally approved scientific measurement of the impact of human activity on plants, animals and landscapes, scientists are able to 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

In 2019 the State of Nature Report revealed 41% of UK species were in decline and more than one in 10 were at risk of extinction. When viewed next to the BII assessment it becomes clear that the UK is at a tipping point where, if enough action is not taken, we will have lost more than we have left.

Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, said: “This report shows the perilous state of nature in the UK and why we must urgently protect what is left and work to restore what we have lost. The nature crisis is not something far away but it is happening all around us. We are seeing both the long-term damage to our natural world as well as the effects of trying to squeeze nature into smaller and smaller spaces to fit in with our plans. The result is that the wildlife of the UK is disappearing from our daily life and we are now at a point where we risk having lost more nature than we have remaining.

“With so much of what is precious to us at stake and at a time when so many of us have felt the benefits of being in nature through the pandemic, we should all be alarmed that while Boris Johnson is saying the right things about restoring nature within a generation this is not translating into action in Westminster. This week the Queen’s Speech outlined Westminster’s commitment to delivering an Environment Bill for England and Northern Ireland, but this doesn’t go far enough, and with newly elected administrations in Scotland and Wales, it is now time for all politicians to act.

“Every 10 years the UK joins the international community in agreeing goals and targets for the next decade, but we failed to achieve 17 out of 20 of these between 2010 and 2020. If we are to avoid another lost decade for nature, and when this could be the last decade we have to turn the tide, it is down to our Prime Minster to set us up for success and show us the binding action plan to revive our world. And by working in concert with decision makers in Westminster, Holyrood, the Senedd and Stormont the UK can set an example of our different governments working together to save nature.”

Through the Prime Minister, the UK has been bringing together world leaders to commit to saving nature. 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. Likewise, the UN will launch their decade of ecological restoration in June highlighting the importance of the next decade to get to grips with the global nature crisis and put the natural world on a path to recovery.

The RSPB is calling for the governments of the UK to bring in legislation that will deliver action on the vital ambition to protect and restore our natural world, provide a blueprint for delivering on the UK’s world leading commitments and:

  • Set legally binding targets to halt and reverse wildlife declines by 2030
  • Determine interim targets to measure the UK’s progress towards the overall goal
  • Establish an independent watchdog with the power to hold governments to account.

To put the UK back on track, the RSPB is calling on all politicians to Revive Our World, and is giving everyone a place to voice their concerns, as well as proposing the legislation and priorities the UK and devolved Governments must set. To find out more visit the Revive Our World pages.

Read the report Biodiversity Loss: The UK’s global rank for levels of biodiversity loss

No let-up in loss of UK’s nature

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The UK’s wildlife continues to decline according to the State of Nature 2019 report. The latest findings show that since rigorous scientific monitoring began in the 1970s there has been a 13% decline in average abundance across wildlife studied and that the declines continue unabated.

Following the State of Nature reports in 2013 and 2016, leading professionals from more than 70 wildlife organisations have joined with government agencies for the first time, to present the clearest picture to date of the status of our species across land and sea.

The State of Nature 2019 report also reveals that 41% of UK species studied have declined, 26% have increased and 33% shown little change since 1970, while 133 species assessed have already been lost from our shores since 1500. 

Butterflies and moths have been particularly hard hit with numbers of butterflies down by 17% and moths down by 25%. The numbers of species, such as the high brown fritillary and grayling, that require more specialised habitats have declined by more than three quarters.

The UK’s mammals also fare badly with greater than 26% of species at risk of disappearing altogether. The wild cat and greater mouse-eared bat are among those species teetering on the edge of disappearing.

Much is known about the causes of decline and about some of the ways in which we could reduce impacts and help struggling species. The evidence from the last 50 years shows that significant and ongoing changes in the way we manage our land for agriculture, and the ongoing effects of climate change are having the biggest impacts on nature.

Pollution is also a major issue. Whilst emissions of many pollutants have been reduced dramatically in recent decades, pollution continues to have a severe impact on the UK’s sensitive habitats and freshwaters, and new pollutant threats are continuing to emerge.

Daniel Hayhow, lead author on the report, said: “We know more about the UK’s wildlife than any other country on the planet, and what it is telling us should make us sit up and listen. We need to respond more urgently across the board if we are to put nature back where it belongs. Governments, conservation groups and individuals must continue to work together to help restore our land and sea for wildlife and people in a way that is both ambitious and inspiring for future generations”

“In this report we have drawn on the best available data on the UK’s biodiversity, produced by partnerships between conservation NGOs, research institutes, UK and national governments, and thousands of dedicated volunteers. It’s through working together that we can help nature recover but the battle must intensify.”

Whilst the data that the report shows are alarming there is also cause for some cautious hope. The report showcases a wide range of exciting conservation initiatives, with partnerships delivering inspiring results for some of the UK’s nature. Species such as bitterns and large blue butterfly have been saved through the concerted efforts of organisations and individuals.

Reflecting growing concern about the environmental and climate emergencies, public support for conservation also continues to grow, with NGO expenditure up by 26% since 2010/11 and time donated by volunteers having increased by 40% since 2000. However, public sector expenditure on biodiversity in the UK, as a proportion of GDP, has fallen by 42% since a peak in 2008/09.

The report has a foreword by a collective of young conservationists who are passionate about conservation and the future of our wildlife and nature to preserve it for future generations.

Dan Rouse, a young conservationist said, “Nature is something that shaped my childhood, that allowed me to be free to use my sense of wonder, and to gain an insight into the wonderful world of nature! It’s young people that are now picking up the baton to save our nature – we’ve already lost Corn Buntings and Nightingales in Wales – how long until they’re gone from the rest of the UK? Along with the eerie calls of curlew and the gentle purr of the turtle doves.”

Sophie Pavelle, a young conservationist said “What a huge wake-up call 2019 has been! I have felt the loss of nature more acutely this year than any other. A dawn chorus less deafening, hedgerows less frantic, bizarre, worrying weather…it seems that in a more complex world nature is tired, muted and confused. People protect what they love, and if we can find quirky, empowering ways to encourage young people to connect with nature emotionally and see it as something they can truly champion – only then can we dig deep to find real hope for a brighter, sustained future for our natural world.”

Locally, partners in the report include Channel Islands representatives (see the list below) and Guernsey’s Andy McCutcheon, Principal Environment Services Officer, Agriculture, Countryside & Land Management Services (ACLMS) “Guernsey welcomes the opportunity to be part of the State of Nature report.  The report paints a picture which should concern everyone. We have had a Biodiversity Strategy in place for nearly four years and this report forces us to face facts. It is only by understanding what we are losing and how we are losing it that we can begin to reverse the serious decline in our species rich habitats such as unimproved grassland.”

Download a full copy of the State of Nature 2019 report here and to find out how you can do your bit to save UK wildlife. Reports and summaries for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also available here

  1. The State of Nature 2019 UK partnership includes: A Focus On Nature, A Rocha, Action for Conservation, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC), Association of Local Environmental Records Centres (ALERC), Badenoch & Strathspey Conservation Group, Bat Conservation Ireland, Bat Conservation Trust (BCT), Biodiversity Ireland, Biological Records Centre (BRC), Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, British Arachnological Society (BAS), British Bryological Society (BBS), British Dragonfly Society (BDS), British Lichen Society, British Mycological Society (BMS), British Pteridological Society (BPS), British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Buglife, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), Chester Zoo, Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Continuous Plankton Recorder, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (Durrell), Earthwatch, Freshwater Habitats Trust, Friends of the Earth, Froglife, Isle of Man Government, iSpot (The Open University), Jersey Government Department of the Environment, John Muir Trust, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Local Environmental Records Centre Wales, Mammal Society, Manx BirdLife, Marine Biological Association (MBA), Marine Conservation Society, Marine Ecosystems Research Programme, MARINELife, National Biodiversity Network (NBN), National Forum for Biological Recording, CEDAR Centre for Environmental Data and Recording, National Trust, National Trust for Scotland, Natural England (NE), Natural History Museum, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Northern Ireland Bat Group, Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), ORCA, People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), Plantlife, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Scottish Badgers, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Scottish Environment Link, Scottish Wild Land Group, Shark Trust, States of Guernsey, The Fungus Conservation Trust, Trees for Life, Ulster Wildlife Trust, University of Plymouth, University of Sheffield, Vincent Wildlife Trust, Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), Wildlife Trusts, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Woodland Trust, WWF, Zoological Society of London (ZSL).