Sad times for our natural world

One journalistic comment I read recently said “He is an extraordinarily malign, unfeeling and irresponsible man. He cares nothing for the people he leads, seeing them merely as an audience for his vulgar showmanship.” Well, many may agree and some will not, but we are united when it comes to his views on, and actions against, nature.

Mightily worrying for us and all naturalists and conservationists is that, in this and his last period as President of the United States, Trump and his administration took (and continues to pursue) several actions that have been widely criticised for having negative impacts on nature and biodiversity, and justifiably so. Here is a summary, and although American-biased, the repercussions will be global.

• He has weakened the American Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 2019, the first Trump administration made changes that reduced protections for species listed under this Act. For instance, the government no longer had to consider climate change impacts when listing species, and it made it easier to remove protections from species that were recovering. These changes put endangered species at greater risk of extinction.

• Trump also rolled back the USA’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which required federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of major projects, including the effects on biodiversity. This has made it easier to approve ecosystem-harming projects, such as large-scale infrastructure developments. (UK government please note!)

• The Trump administration is now significantly promoting fossil fuel extraction, including oil and gas drilling (“Drill, baby, drill!”), on public land. This results in habitat destruction, pollution, and fragmentation of ecosystems that are crucial for wildlife. A very worrying example is the opening up of areas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling with its potential adverse impact on vulnerable species such as polar bears and migratory birds.

• Repeal of the Clean Power Plan: Trump repealed his country’s Clean Power Plan which was designed to reduce carbon emissions from power plants, a major contributor to climate change. Trump does not believe in the climate breakdown, ignoring the science as is his wont. But climate change, which is backed by clear scientific evidence and observations around the world, disrupts ecosystems, leading to shifts in species distributions, habitat loss, and other negative effects on biodiversity.

• Trump reduced the size of several national monuments in the USA. These areas were home to diverse species and important ecosystems. Shrinking national monuments will likely lead to increased development pressures and habitat destruction. He also weakened Marine Protected Areas, seeking to open up marine areas to more drilling and commercial fishing, including reducing protections in the Atlantic, where overfishing and habitat degradation threaten marine biodiversity.

• Trump has resisted restrictions on bee- and other pollinator-harming pesticides, negatively impacting biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems.

• Trump has now withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement again after President Biden re-instated USA’s membership of it. This has major long-term adverse consequences for biodiversity. Global efforts to combat climate change are critical to preserving biodiversity. Climate change itself is a major driver of biodiversity loss, affecting ecosystems globally through rising temperatures, changing weather patterns, and habitat loss, as we all know at Betts.

• Trump’s stance against wildlife trafficking is weak. He has moved to reduce regulations aimed at stopping the illegal trade of species like elephants, rhinos, and tigers. That is a major threat to global biodiversity.

• Trump’s policies have included opening up large portions of forests to logging and other resource extraction, threatening wildlife habitats. As we know, deforestation and logging are major contributors to the loss of biodiversity, especially in sensitive ecosystems like rainforests.

In aggregate, Trump's policy focus on deregulation and prioritising economic growth over environmental conservation pose significant threats to biodiversity by undermining the legal frameworks protecting species, accelerating climate breakdown, and promoting habitat destruction.

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Betts Ecology will always resist attempts to harm our natural world. Locally, we can do this by creating/restoring biodiversity on our sites, and more widely by raising awareness, supporting nature through promoting conservation organisations and providing science-backed data and information.