Nature or no nature? Why the UK Government must act now

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth. In their election manifesto, the UK Government showed signs they were willing to turn it around. They recognised that the nature and climate emergency is the greatest long-term challenge that we face and stated a commitment to meeting the targets in the 2021 Environment Act.
 
With one in six species threatened with national extinction, nature needed the new Government to act fast. And there’s evidence to show that people want this, too. Recent research from Wildlife and Countryside Link shows that 71% of the public support increased planning protections for spaces such as national parks, fields, lakes and streams.

Yet, today’s reality seems very different to the future laid out in pre-election promises. Much of the Government’s recent rhetoric has been distinctly anti-nature, with “newts and bats” blamed for stalled developments. The proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill is potentially so harmful to wildlife and the environment that, together with other experts and NGOs, we’re calling for an entire section of it to be scrapped. Meanwhile, despite the potential for nature-friendly farming to save us billions, we are seriously worried that cuts are planned in this area. 
 
We know that our future depends on nature. Any decisions that will impact negatively on birds and other wildlife are short-sighted and unjustified. That’s why we’re taking our politicians to task, challenging them to put nature and all of our futures first. 

From Monday 2 June until Wednesday 11 June, we want to give the UK Government an opportunity to win back public trust over its pledge to protect and restore nature. Ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Comprehensive Spending Review announcement next Wednesday, we’ll be quizzing ministers with a new question every day. We want to know how they believe their current policies will help them keep their manifesto promise. 

Together with more than 1.2 million RSPB members, we want to enjoy a world where wildlife, wild places and people thrive. The decisions our politicians take are crucial to making this happen.

The current UK Government was elected on a promise to meet legally binding nature targets. Yet funding for nature, and the laws protecting species and habitats are at risk.

So, on Monday 2 June, we asked Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer:
“How will you hit your nature targets without the funding and protections that make them possible?”

Much of the UK’s wildlife is in decline, with farmland birds particularly badly hit. Once familiar species such as Turtle Doves, Skylarks and Yellowhammers have seen populations fall in recent years. With 70% of the UK farmed, working with farmers is the best chance we have of seeing our wildlife numbers recover and then soar. 

Nature-friendly farming also makes farming as a business more resilient and profitable in the long term. It can keep our soils and water healthier and increase natural pest controls and pollinators such as bees, on which much of our food relies.   

In fact, every £1 spent on nature-friendly farming delivers £3.60 in public benefit – including clean water, food security, flood resilience, and restored biodiversity. Any cuts to the nature-friendly farming budget would be short-sighted, proving costly to our economy, environment and futures.

Watch James Rebanks, nature-friendly farmer and award-winning nature writer from the Lake District, share an urgent call to action to look after the UK’s landscapes.

On Tuesday 20 May, we handed a petition of over 100,000 signatures to Downing Street calling on the UK Government to protect and grow the nature-friendly farming budget. If you were one of those signatories, thank you!

Our petition has also been backed by many farmers, charities and other organisations, including the Nature Friendly Farming Network, the Soil Association, Landworkers’ Alliance, the National Trust and WWT. Our petition marks a clarion call for nature-friendly farming, and we urge the UK Government not to ignore this groundswell of public support.

The UK Government has claimed that its new Planning and Infrastructure Bill offers huge opportunities to restore nature, whilst supporting ambitions to build new houses, roll-out renewables, and drive economic growth.

However, this is simply not true. The Office for Environmental Protection stated that the Bill would be a ‘regression’ of environmental protections, removing vital safeguards for nature and putting protected sites and species at risk. And 40 experts have penned an open letter to government, branding the Bill a ‘licence to kill nature’.

Together with The Wildlife Trusts we are calling for Part 3 of the Bill to be scrapped completely.

As a community of nature lovers, we've fought long and hard for nature protections. Yet right now, at this critical moment for our amazing wildlife, the Government's Planning Bill seeks to tear them up, putting nature and our country at serious risk.

The UK Government is responsible for making sure that we meet legal commitments to halt the loss of wildlife and protect 30% of our lands and seas by 2030.

Hitting these targets could be a gamechanger for nature. We could see the beginnings of a revival that could mean more birdsong, more bees, more butterflies. More of the wildlife we love. We know it’s possible but only if the Government acts with nature in mind now.

After last year’s election, we set out the actions needed to help birds and other wildlife recover and thrive.

We’re calling on ministers to explain how, with funding for nature at risk, and laws protecting species and habitats under threat, the future of nature in England is in safe hands.    

Beccy Speight, RSPB chief executive of the RSPB, said: 

“The UK Government has some serious questions to answer. We have a planning bill that currently risks species extinction and irreversible habitat loss, reports of potentially devastating cuts to the nature-friendly farming budget and the very real possibility of missing legally binding Environment Act targets. 

“This government was elected on a promise to restore nature, not push wildlife and precious habitats closer to the brink. Abandoning nature in a push to bolster the Treasury’s coffers is short-sighted in the extreme and comes with a price tag none of us should be prepared to pay. A thriving natural world is essential to underpin both growth and a resilient future.”