We know you are as angry as we are about UK Government's plans to change nature and climate laws - and are urgently asking for your help.
In the last week alone, UK Government has announced that they will be:
- Lifting the ban on fracking in England
- Removing important laws that protect nature
- Considering scrapping plans to reward farmers for managing land in a nature-friendly way.
These go against the explicit promises the Conservative Party made in their 2019 manifesto and the mandate they were elected to govern on. We have no option left to us but to ask our political leaders to represent us - their electorate.
If you're on Twitter, use the Wildlife Trusts' simple form to send a tweet to your MP
here.
You can also
download our social media graphics below to share across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Download our
template letter here and edit or add to the text to reflect your own concerns.
You can then find your local MP
here and send your letter by post or email.
Download our
template letter here and edit or add to the text to reflect your own concerns.
You can then find your local Councillor
here and send your letter by post or email.
Why is Norfolk Wildlife Trust so concerned?
The Government’s recent announcements read like an open attack on nature, putting Norfolk's landscape, people and prosperity in great peril. At a time of biodiversity and climate emergency, these decisions represent a devastating U-turn on promises made in the Government’s manifesto and their 25 year Environment Plan, and are made without public consent.
The Government are proposing the removal of some policies that control building and development, the creation of ‘Investment Zones’, fast-tracking major construction projects and a wholesale review of environmental support to farmers and land managers.
The Government are dismissing environmental protections as unnecessary ‘burdens’, and pitting nature recovery against the economy and food production. Yet Norfolk’s prosperity depends upon everything that nature provides – from farming and tourism to clean air and water.
Removing environmental regulations will allow development on some of our most precious landscapes and pollution to poison our rivers and coast, causing irreversible harm to wildlife, people and business. For example, the proposed Norwich Western Link road has been added to the UK Government’s list of fast-tracked developments. This could spell disaster for one of Norfolk’s most unique landscapes and the wildlife that calls it home.
Our county’s special and inspiring landscapes, including the much-loved North Norfolk Coast, the wildlife-rich Norfolk Broads and the unique Brecks are at the very heart of our wellbeing, our livelihoods and our mental health. Losing any part of our natural landscape, such as rare chalk streams, ancient woodland, heathlands and wildlife friendly farmland would diminish all of Norfolk and its people.
The Environmental Land Management Scheme set out to support farmers to restore and protect our natural landscape, alongside producing high quality food. It is being developed through extensive consultation with land managers and conservationists. It is not perfect, but it is science-based, evidence-led and recognises that wildlife friendly farming benefits food production as well as providing other environmental services such as reducing pollution and flooding in our communities.
The Government’s Food Security Report 2021 is clear: ‘‘The biggest medium to long term risk to the UK’s domestic production comes from climate change and other environmental pressures like soil degradation, water quality and biodiversity”. Any dilution or delay of the existing scheme could compromise the support a broad church of land managers and conservationists need to help restore Norfolk’s wildlife and natural landscape.
Collectively, we work across Norfolk, in our countryside, village, towns and cities, and know first-hand how much the people of Norfolk value nature, and their willingness to protect and encourage our wildlife.
Simply put, what is good for nature is good for everyone. There is no way to prosper without a healthy environment and this requires protection and support at a national scale.
It is vital that we let the Government know the true value we place on a healthy natural world, before it’s too late. We urge you to contact your local MP and Councillor today.