Restore Nature Now! How?
29th September 2023
The annual State of Nature report was issued 27th September, revealing that 1 in 6 species in the UK is threatened with extinction. On average the abundance of land and freshwater species in England has declined by 32% since 1970.
The National Biodiversity network noted: “The State of Nature report also found that out of the assessed habitats which are important for wildlife, only one in seven (14%) were found to be in a good condition and only one in fourteen (7%) woodlands and a quarter (25%) of peatlands were assessed to be in a good ecological state. Due to habitat damage from fishing gear, none of the seafloor around the UK was found in good condition…Despite recent moves towards more nature-friendly land and sea use, as yet only a fifth of farmland is now in agri-environment schemes with only some of that helping nature, just 44% of woodland is certified as sustainably managed and only half of fish stocks are sustainably harvested. While all three measures have improved markedly over the past 20 years, there is still a very long way to go.” (1)
Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive, said: “The UK’s wildlife is better studied than in any other country in the world and what the data tells us should make us sit up and listen. What is clear is that progress to protect our species and habitats has not been sufficient and yet we know we urgently need to restore nature to tackle the climate crisis and build resilience.
“We know that conservation works and how to restore ecosystems and save species. We need to move far faster as a society towards nature-friendly land and sea use, otherwise the UK’s nature and wider environment will continue to decline and degrade, with huge implications for our own way of life. It’s only through working together that we can help nature recover.” (2)
The Soil Association’s head of Farming Policy Gareth Morgan yesterday said: “It is deeply concerning to see this detailed report on the state of nature in the UK but sadly it does not come as a huge shock. Farmland makes up 70% of Britain and we can’t fix the decline in nature without a transformation in food and farming. Many farmers are working with nature and many more are keen to do so. But we remain too dependent on over-intensive, chemical-reliant methods such as industrial livestock systems fed on imported soy. The evidence shows some success for recovery in small protected areas but we cannot ignore what happens in the rest of our countryside where we need a renewed focus on producing good food in harmony with nature.” (3)
Just as switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources will be key to achieving net zero for carbon emissions, so it would seem that switching from what might be termed industrial farming to regenerative farming will be key to achieving the restoration of nature.
(1) https://nbn.org.uk/news/state-of-nature-2023/
Previous issues of Green Tau have explored biodiversity –
The Green Tau 