Nature needs us now!
18 July 2023
NATURE NEEDS US NOW!
Born Free joins celebrities & charities calling for urgent action from UK politicians to protect our wildlife & environment for future generations.
Today, 18th July, Born Free is joining a powerful coalition of 80 charities to launch the Nature 2030 campaign. Backed by celebrities including Steve Backshall, Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin, the campaign aims to secure a healthy and thriving environmental legacy for the future, giving hope for wildlife and habitats that may otherwise be lost forever.
Led by Wildlife and Countryside Link, of which Born Free is a member, Nature 2030 is calling on all political parties to commit to ambitious action to reverse the decline of nature by 2030 and to prioritise nature and climate in their manifestos for the forthcoming general election.
Currently the UK Government is failing to fulfil its pledge to protect 30% of the UK’s land and sea for nature and hit its legally-binding target to halt wildlife decline by 2030. These targets haven’t been set by outside agencies or charities – these are targets the Government set for itself. They are designed to enable the UK meet internationally-agreed targets for nature recovery to which it is committed. However, as things stand, Government policy and delivery are nowhere near sufficient to meet these promises.
And that’s why this campaign is so critical says Born Free’s Head of Policy Mark Jones,
“We all need nature. It is essential for our wellbeing, our economy and our planet, but right now nature is in trouble. Right now – nature needs us.”
“Born Free has long promoted the urgent need for measures to recover and restore nature and wildlife. The UK is one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries, and as such there is a need for real ambition as the Government strives to comply with the promises and commitments it has made. However, we are really concerned that the measures currently being proposed by Government will fall well short of what is required. We’re therefore delighted to add our voice to Wildlife and Countryside Link’s Nature 2030 campaign, and call for the urgent implementation of Link’s five-point plan for nature. Transformative changes to our relationship with the natural world and all the species that form a part of it are urgently required – achieving the targets for nature’s recovery must be front and foremost on the agenda of all political parties as we move towards and beyond the next General Election.”
The 5 landmark commitments the Nature 2030 coalition is seeking from political parties are:
- A pay rise for nature and farmers: Doubling the nature-friendly farming budget to £6bn to pay for ambitious farm improvements and large-scale nature restoration.
- Making polluters pay: Putting a Nature Recovery Obligation in law, requiring polluting big businesses to deliver environmental improvement plans, and funding to counter the damage they cause to nature.
- More space for nature by 2030: A 30×30 rapid delivery programme restoring protected sites and landscapes and creating a Public Nature Estate to fulfil the promise to protect 30% of the land and sea for nature, and deliver more nature in all communities.
- Delivering the green jobs we need: A National Nature Service, delivering wide scale habitat restoration and creating thousands of green jobs
- A right to a healthy environment: establishing a human right to clean air and water and access to nature, building nature into decision making, enabling people to hold decision makers to account and driving changes that will recover nature and improve public health.
Born Free is asking the public to show their support for Nature 2030’s ambitious 5-point plan by signing an Open Letter to political leaders*. The hope is this will help secure commitment to the proposals from each political party ahead of the next general election.
SIGN THE OPEN LETTER AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
We all need Nature. But right now, Nature needs us like never before.
*Privacy policies apply. You can unsubscribe from communications at any time. The Wildlife Trusts is acting as data processor for this campaign. For the purpose of communicating with you further about this campaign, your details will be kept safe and secure by The Wildlife Trusts for the duration of the campaign and then deleted.