STATE OF NATURE GRIM

Some accuse people like me as alarmist when we talk about species extinction and climate change. The hard truths about the consequences of the human impact on Earth are not popular in many quarters. 

The data on the state of nature in the UK have again been updated and are now available. They still make sorry reading, the more so since the biodiversity indicators show that little is being achieved and so much continues to decline alarmingly. You can download full information from the JNCC website here: https://bit.ly/UKbiod2020, and there are several other good sources of commentary, such as from the RSPB. 

I know I keep batting on about species loss and the state of our wildlife but we have to wake up, we really do. Even at a very local level I am witnessing the loss or decline of many species that were once common. Just a few examples are song thrushes, greenfinches, hedgehogs, water voles and brown hares, not to mention glow-worms, several butterflies and many other invertebrates, especially pollinators.

Similar data to those for the UK are available for the EU, with similarly alarming findings: 75% of the 233 assessed habitats are in a bad or poor state, and only 27% of species are at favourable conservation status. It remains a tragedy that Britain so unwisely left the EU which thereby inevitably makes collaboration through science and academe harder, not least because of the mendacious “sovereignty” obsessions of the Brexity side of the UK government. That is an attitude the pursuance of which, even trying not to be too impertinent, can only be described as narrow-mindedly short-sighted in our ecologically connected planet. 

Betts Ecology will always take an ecosystem view and decry nationalistic arrogance that obstructs healing the mindless injury we are doing to habitats, species and nature generally. On our sites and in our work, we will always endeavour to avoid harm to  wildlife, habitats and the natural world through the application of ecological science translated into active policy.

 © Betts Ecology