The most important global summit for nature in decades – the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, also known as COP15 – starts today in Canada. What happens there will directly affect wildlife in Norfolk.
The conference comes at a time when the latest study suggests the Earth’s wildlife has plummeted by almost 70% in the last 50 years. The state of nature in Norfolk is not much better, and recent Government actions threaten to make a bad situation even worse.
The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world – and in Norfolk, wildlife has suffered over recent decades from issues such as loss of habitat, changes in agriculture, river pollution and poorly planned development. Unfortunately, the Government’s Retained EU Law Bill threatens to remove vital wildlife protections and the targets they propose to set for nature’s recovery are not ambitious enough.
Eliot Lyne, our CEO, said:
“Despite the pressures of the last century, Norfolk still has a rich natural environment that provides so much for our communities. From the health and wellbeing benefits of time spent in nature to the natural services such as flood defences, clean water and carbon storage offered by wildlife habitats including saltmarsh and peatlands.
“After already sustaining some shocking declines, the future for Norfolk’s wildlife and people looks bleak unless urgent action is taken. We must all work together to help restore our natural landscape and support our wildlife to become more resilient to the impacts from human activity, including climate change – this is at the core of Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s new strategy.
“Bold action is needed to tackle the twin nature and climate crises at COP15. The next eight years need be ones of dramatic improvement for nature in order to fulfil the proposal to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 – something that the UK has already promised to do.
“In Norfolk we are working hard to restore nature – to help wildlife recover and to help us mitigate and adapt to a changing climate. But recent Government decisions – as well as lack of action in other areas – undermine nature’s ability to recover. We need to see the Government set out far more ambitious targets for nature if it’s to keep its commitment to pass the environment on in a better state to the next generation.
“Shockingly, the Government’s current plans will mean even less wildlife in 20 years’ time than we have now. We’re asking our MPs to ensure a truly ‘world leading’ target that aims to leave the next generation with more nature – not less.”
We want to see the UK Government take the following action:
- Set ambitious targets to restore the abundance of nature at home.
The Government is due to publish its Environment Act targets – but current proposals will mean even less wildlife in 20 years’ time than there is now. We want to see a target to increase species abundance by at least 20% by 2042, compared to 2022 levels.
- Help set ambitious global targets to halt and reverse catastrophic declines in habitat and wildlife by 2030 at COP15.
- Scrap the Retained EU Law Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament, because it threatens the laws which protect wild places and species across the UK from the Scottish highlands to the Norfolk Broads.
COP15 runs from 7th to 19th December. Please see our COP15 briefing note here.
The Wildlife Trusts declared an ambition to help the UK reach the 30 by 30 goal two years ago and have since begun a number of new projects to help nature recover.
In order to help address the biodiversity crisis, our new strategy sets out the conservation charity’s intention to work in partnership with communities, landowners and organisations to create bigger, better and more connected spaces for nature.