Nature needs us and we need nature - State of nature

Nature conservation organisations call on Government to deliver ambitious vision for nature and people

An ambitious and inspirational long-term plan is urgently needed to save nature and improve our well-being as the Government considers its spending priorities – that is the clear message from the Response for Nature report published today by a coalition of leading conservation organisations.

The Response for Nature report for England, a follow up to the 2013 State of Nature report, will be launched by BAFTA-award winning naturalist, writer and TV presenter, Steve Backshall, and 26 conservation organisations at Church House in London this evening (Tuesday, 13 October), while simultaneous events will be held in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, to launch reports for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Each report makes key recommendations to which governments must respond to, to help restore nature in the UK. We are losing nature at an alarming rate, so we must act now to halt and reverse this decline before it’s too late – not only for nature itself, but people too.

In 2013, scientists from 25 nature organisations worked side-by-side to compile a stock take of our native species – the first of its kind for the UK. The resulting State of Nature report  revealed that 60% of the species studied had declined over recent decades. More than one in ten of all the species assessed were under threat of disappearing from our lands and shores altogether.

In his speech at tonight’s London launch Steve Backshall will say: “The State of Nature report revealed where we are. Now we need a plan for where we should go. The Response for Nature document starts us on that long road.

“Let us be in no doubt that the public is behind us. An independent survey showed that 90 per cent of the UK population feel that our well-being and quality of life is based on nature.

“Action can’t be simply hived off to a single, hard-pressed department in Whitehall. It must run as a matter of course through every department, from Defra to the Treasury. Every department needs to understand that restoring nature will be a key solution to some of our most pressing social, environmental and economic problems. Every individual, from top to bottom, needs to embrace it, and act on it.

“To the Government, I say – please read this report, take note and act on its recommendations. Come back with the details of your 25-year plan for the environment. People and nature need you to make it a great one.”

The Response for Nature reports outlines specific asks for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to help save UK nature. To ensure its recovery, nature needs the UK Government, or devolved Government’s, to take the following common actions now:

1.     Deliver an inspiring vision for nature – nature needs to be a part of our lives. Government must set a trajectory for nature’s recovery so that, by 2040, we have a country richer in nature and can see people connecting, respecting and valuing nature.

2.     Fully implement and defend the laws that conserve nature – our most important laws that safeguard species and special places, the Birds and Habitats Directives, are under threat. We must resist attempts from Europe to weaken our laws and ensure the full implementation of legislation that aims to reduce pressures on nature.

3.     Deliver a network of special places for nature on land and at sea – we need special places to be protected and well managed, and linked within a wider landscape with room for people and nature.

4.     Recover threatened species targeted through programmes of action – we must halt species extinction, but more than that, we should be restoring priority species to favourable conservation status, where populations recover to a healthy state.

5.     Improve the connection of young people to nature for their health and well-being and for nature’s future – we need to improve how children learn from and connect with nature, ensuring future generations continue to benefit from and contribute to the protection and enhancement of the natural world.

6.     Provide incentives (or other financial measures) that work for nature – we need to reward those who enhance our natural world, and make those responsible pay when we take more from it than we put back.

7.     Support people working together for nature – we all have a part to play in saving nature. Each and every one of us needs to take care of, and take action for, nature – before it’s too late.

Butterfly Conservation Chief Executive, Dr Martin Warren, who will be speaking at the Response for Nature launch tonight, said: “Nature is in trouble, the time to act is now. Conservation NGOs are keen to play their part but we need a strong lead from the UK Government. We welcome the commitment to produce a 25 year plan to restore nature but this must be turned into effective action and fast. We need this for nature but also for the health and well-being of the people of this country.”

As the Chancellor considers the Spending Review and budgets for Government Departments, the Response for Nature coalition is urging them not to undervalue the contribution that a healthy environment can make in delivering a host of public benefits including improved health and happiness, more effective planning, flood prevention, sustainable farming and climate change adaptation.

Martin Harper, RSPB Conservation Director, said: “There are some big decisions being made over the coming months about public spending, the future of nature laws and development on land and at sea.  These decisions must not erode the basis of nature protection.  We need leadership from the Prime Minister to ensure all Government Departments play their part in enhancing the environment for this and future generations.”

The Response for Nature coalition for England includes the following partners:

·         A Focus on Nature

·         A Rocha UK

·         Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust

·         Bat Conservation Trust

·         Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland

·         British Bryological Society

·         British Pteridological Society

·         Buglife

·         Bumblebee Conservation Trust

·         Butterfly Conservation

·         Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management

·         The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland

·         Freshwater Habitats Trust

·         Friends of the Earth

·         The Fungus Conservation Trust

·         John Muir Trust

·         The Mammal Society

·         Marine Conservation Society

·         National Trust

·         People’s Trust for Endangered Species

·         Plantlife

·         RSPB

·         Whale and Dolphin Conservation

·         The Wildlife Trusts

·         Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

·         The Woodland Trust

Laura

A prickle of hedgehogs and a scurry of squirrels among garden wildlife secrets

Hedgehog RSPB images Ben Hall

RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch reinforces importance of gardens to threatened wildlife in Merseyside

The RSPB is encouraging people in Mersyside to get out and uncover the secrets of their gardens and outdoor spaces, after the second round of RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch highlighted the importance of gardens to threatened UK wildlife.

Sixty-six per cent of RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch participants in Merseyside reported seeing a hedgehog snuffling around their garden at some point in the year. But over half revealed they’d never set eyes on a slow worm or grass snake slithering in and around their garden. 

In excess of 585,000 people across the UK took part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch during the weekend of 24 and 25 January, with 72 per cent of them also supplying information on the other garden wildlife they saw throughout the year. In Merseyside, over 8,000 people took part, helping to contribute to the national results.

Daniel Hayhow, RSPB Conservation Scientist, said: “Once again the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch survey has highlighted how important our gardens are for an amazing variety of wildlife living there. A lot of garden wildlife is in desperate need of our help. By providing shelter and a safe place to make a home, gardens provide an invaluable resource and are a key element in helping to save nature, perhaps even playing a pivotal role in reversing some declines.

“The RSPB is encouraging people across the UK to make the most of the spring weather and to go out and explore their garden or outdoor space to uncover the wildlife that is living there. In a few years’ time we’ll be able to show any changes in the distribution of garden wildlife using this fantastic data. By bringing people closer to nature and learning new ways we can all give nature a home, we’ll see improvements rather than declines.”

For the first time, Big Garden Birdwatch participants were asked to keep an eye out for slow worms and grass snakes slithering around their gardens. These secretive reptiles are often found in compost heaps or near a source of water. The results revealed that eight per cent of people nationally spotted a slow worm regularly throughout the year, while only two per cent saw a grass snake.

Daniel continued: “Despite remaining widespread in many areas of the UK, important habitats for slow worms and grass snakes have been lost. As gardens have become tidier, reptile homes have been lost, leaving a shortage of suitable habitats in which to live and breed.

“Piles of logs, compost heaps and ponds provide ideal warm, sheltered environments for these species to breed, find food and to hibernate.

“The more people providing these features will increase the habitats available for all reptiles in their gardens and will hopefully contribute to reversing their widespread decline.”

For the second year running, grey squirrels remained the most widely-spotted non-bird visitor, with 73 per cent of participants in Merseyside spotting one scurrying across their garden or climbing up a tree at least once a month. At the other end of the scale, the grey’s native relative, the red squirrel, continued to struggle and was one of the least-seen species nationally – with 10 per cent of participants in Merseyside seeing one on a monthly basis. The red squirrel is under threat by loss and fragmentation of woodland habitat, and a lethal virus carried by the grey, and has been lost from large parts of the UK. This virus is relatively harmless to grey squirrels, but is fatal to reds.

Hedgehogs remained a popular garden visitor for the second year running. Over 65 per cent of people nationally set eyes on the spiny species throughout the year, although it is thought populations have declined by 30 per cent since 2003 – with less than a million left in the UK [The People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), a charity which has been running counts of hedgehogs for over a decade and compiled the figures, believes there are now fewer than a million hedgehogs left in the UK, down from an estimated 2 million in the mid-1990s and 36 million in the 1950s].    

Badgers were spotted by twice as many people living in rural areas than those living in suburban or urban areas, with over 40 per cent reporting to have seen one during the year. The contrast in sightings between rural and urban areas was mirrored by reports of muntjac and roe deer; around 35 per cent of rural residents saw either species of deer compared to only seven per cent of urban dwellers.

The RSPB is encouraging people across the UK to go out and explore their garden or outdoor space to uncover the wonderful wildlife that is living there. The State of Nature report revealed that many garden favourites, such as starlings, hedgehogs and butterflies, were all in trouble. By giving a home to the nature on our doorstep, everyone can help reverse these wildlife declines. Brand new figures released last week from the RSPB show that membership for the year 2014/15 is at an all time high – 1,159,094. This is a 44,000 increase on last year’s figures and highlights the continued growing support for providing a home for nature across the UK.

The RSPB’s partners are also highly enthusiastic about the wildlife results and the help that they provide in building a better picture of UK wildlife. 

 

Dr John Wilkinson, ARC Science Programme Manager, added: “Yet again the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is providing useful data on the importance of UK’s gardens for wildlife. As natural habitats become increasingly fragmented, gardens provide essential living space for some reptiles, especially grass snakes and slow worms, which live and breed in compost heaps and find shelter in neglected areas.”

Henry Johnson, People’s Trust for Endangered Species Hedgehog Officer, said: “No other country in the world can muster half a million people for a wildlife survey. Spotting animals is just the start. For more people to see hedgehogs in the future, we need more holes in fences, joining up gardens, and more insect-friendly gardening.”

Marina Pacheco, CEO of The Mammal Society, said: “These fantastic results show the importance of our gardens not only for birds but for the whole range of wildlife including our mammals.

“Records for mammals are particularly scarce and as we are currently collecting data for a national mammal atlas these records, plus any other people send in, are invaluable for informing future conservation.”

Big Garden Birdwatch is a part of the RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home campaign, aimed at tackling the housing crisis facing the UK’s threatened wildlife.

The charity is asking people to provide a place for wildlife in their own gardens and outside spaces – whether it’s putting up a nest box for birds, creating a pond for frogs and toads or building a home for a hedgehog.

To find out how you can give nature a home where you live visit: rspb.org.uk/homes  

424,699 Big Garden Birdwatch participants (294,550 gardens) provided information about other wildlife that visits their garden.

The overall UK results are:

2015	At least monthly (%)	Ever this year (%)	Never (%)	Don't know (%)
Badger	12.16	22.50	64.05	13.45
Grey squirrel	73.62	89.54	7.87	2.58
Red squirrel	2.49	4.75	88.33	6.92
Muntjac deer	6.51	15.49	76.69	7.82
Roe deer	8.71	17.85	74.56	7.60
Hedgehog	28.47	65.28	19.95	14.78
Slow worm	7.71	23.39	50.70	25.91
Glass snake	2.33	14.41	62.03	23.57

 This table shows the wildlife results for Merseyside gardens in 2015.

	Monthly (%)	Ever (%)	Never (%)	Don't know (%)
Badger	1.25	3.16	88.11	8.74
Grass snake	0.08	1.00	82.53	16.47
Grey squirrel	73.28	88.24	9.22	2.54
Hedgehog	25.95	66.08	20.69	13.23
Muntjac deer	0.22	0.82	94.81	4.37
Red squirrel	10.45	19.57	74.63	5.79
Roe deer	0.37	1.19	94.74	4.08
Slow worm	3.28	5.80	70.10	24.10