100 days to go

I hope you enjoyed Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend.  Hundreds of thousands of people (including at least three Harpers recording 11 species) gave up an hour of their time to count the birds in their garden.  What's more, Cambridge United and Arsenal are both in the hat for the fifth round draw of the FA Cup.  What a great weekend.

Anyone that cares about wildlife should also care about politics.  The decisions that our politicians make affect the wildlife and wild places we love - through laws, policies, taxation and funding.

So with 100 days to go until the General Election, I thought I'd whet your appetite for the weeks of campaigning ahead.

It sounds as though the TV debates will happen, perhaps with an extraordinary line up of different politicians in different combinations, on different channels.

Which made me think. Just imagine...

Ben Andrew's spectacular picture of a kingfisher.  Here's hoping politicians show their best in the election campaign.

Welcome to the first TV debate for nature!

Q: Party leader, in 2020, at the end of the next Parliament, what will your legacy be?

A: This will be the Government that turned round the decline in biodiversity and tackled climate change thereby safeguarding our natural assets for our children and grandchildren.

We would introduce a Nature and Wellbeing Act, with a long-term plan for restoring biodiversity in a generation. It would include new rules to hold the Government to account for making sure that all departments are focused on sustainable use of our natural world.

As we celebrate 800 years from Magna Carta and 750 years of the House of Commons, the story our children tell of the next five years will be the Government that established a new, mature relationship between people, planet and Parliament - we learnt to live in harmony. We will no longer take more from nature than we need, as we do now for short-term profit and political gain, but recognise that we all depend on nature and need to invest in our natural environment to continue to benefit from it and delight in it.

Q: Investing? That sounds expensive.

A: Well, we certainly have to recognise that if we want to have a healthy environment, we will need to invest in it. At least €5.8 billion per year will be needed to manage and restore nature across the EU. For the UK, some estimates put the total costs of meeting the Aichi biodiversity targets at around £2 billion per year, which is three times the existing annual agri-environment budget.

But think of the rewards! Who wouldn’t agree that saving a species from extinction is priceless?

But if you do need convincing more, the ecosystem services provided by the EU Natura 2000 Network are estimated to be worth around €200–300 billion per year, (or 2 % to 3 % of EU GDP). That’s many times greater than the actual cost of managing the network in the first place.

What’s more, environmentally-sound decision-making is good for the economy. All of our economic activity depends, ultimately, on the natural world. Yet we continue to degrade our natural assets at an unsustainable rate, as the Natural Capital Committee has shown. In the UK, we would introduce an Office for Environmental Responsibility. It would be an independent, expert body to hold the Government to account for restoring nature, but also to offer authoritative advice, helping every Government Department to act in a way that will enhance our natural assets, rather than continue to build up an ecological debt—like an Office for Budget Responsibility for the natural world.

Q: Can you give me an example?

A: One simple illustration is how we spend money in the agricultural sector. Last year, the Government had the chance to move money from direct subsidies, to payments that would reward farming that provide things which benefit the public - such as a countryside rich in wildlife to which people have access.

In 2017, the chance will come again and, if you take into account all the public benefits that the change would provide, the calculation is clear -  we must transfer the maximum amount from direct subsidies (pillar 1) to payments for providing public benefits (pillar 2). Do this and there would be a few hundred million of extra cash to spend on wildlife friendly farming.

Q: And where does healthcare come in this vision?

A: I’m glad you asked. Providing a healthy natural world is really important for our health too.

At the moment our healthcare system is focused on palliative care, spending money to make people better after they get ill. But with an aging and increasingly sedentary population, those costs are growing higher every year. That’s one of the reasons why the NHS is under pressure.

Natural England has estimated that by providing access to quality natural greenspace for everyone, we could save an amazing £2.1 billion a year—by delivering natural, preventative care. Just helping people get walking, connecting with nature can help to prevent conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. It can also improve people’s mental health and wellbeing.

It’s important to note that this is often a question of equality too. We often think of environmental inequality as a Victorian problem, with smoky chimneys and crowded factories. But it’s still the poorest and most vulnerable people who tend to have least access to a quality environment, and that has impacts on their health. We would introduce a basic standard for access to quality greenspace for everyone.

Q: Now, on to the serious subject of gun crime. What will stop this growing menace?

A: It’s extraordinary that we still face illegal persecution of wildlife in this country.

In 2013, we received 164 reports of shooting and destruction of birds of prey.

We would introduce a licensing system for driven grouse shoots. For most, the burden would be light, just a small charge to cover the costs of the system. But where illegal activity persists, licences for shoots would be revoked and fines levied. It’s not acceptable for people to get away with this kind of serious crime any longer.

Q: What is your take on immigration?

A: We welcome diversity and delight in the variety of life in the UK. Don’t forget, we are responsible for all the amazing wildlife in the UK Overseas Territories, as well as UK wildlife. Did you know there are more penguins in British territory than anywhere else in the world?

As the climate changes, we are bound to see the arrival of new species on our shores and the establishment of infrequent visitors, as their ranges expand. However, the same changes will also put some British species at risk, like the endemic Scottish crossbill, or the capercaille, which may face increasingly inhospitable conditions.  Science tells us that we must we maintain and enhance existing protected areas for wildlife today but also for climate colonisers like Great White Egret, Spoonbill, Bee-eaters and Hoopoe.  They're on their way and we should do everything we can to be hospitable.

The other big landmark this year is the 200th anniversary of The Treaty of Paris, which brought the nations of Europe together to end the Napoleonic Wars. This year, we need a new Treaty of Paris bringing together all the nations of the world to beat climate change. It must focus—as always—on a strong global deal for mitigating climate change, but also on the importance of adapting to our changing world.

However, I should also note that not all visitors are benign. The arrival of invasive, non-native species is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity—species like the harlequin ladybird, the signal crayfish and the water hyacinth. We welcome new powers in the Infrastructure Bill for dealing with these damaging guests and will crack down on border controls to make sure that no more are allowed in.

Q: You mentioned penguins – what would your foreign policy be like?

A: Over 90% of British biodiversity is in our Overseas Territories, but we aren’t doing enough to protect it. In fact, we barely know what’s out there.

On this, the 100th Anniversary of Ascension Island, we would declare a Marine Protected Area around the Island. Ascension has no permanent population, but it’s home to some of the world’s most important species: the 2nd largest green turtle nesting site in the Atlantic, nurseries for humpback whales and tropical seabird breeding stations.

The other main pillar of our foreign policy would be preserving and fully implementing the EU Birds and Habitats Directives. These laws have been the foundation of protection for nature in the UK for decades, but the prevailing deregulatory zeal is putting them in danger. The Directives deliver benefits for the public, certainty for business and the best protection for wildlife. We must work to deliver them fully, not undermine them.

Well, your time is up for today, Party Leader: we’ve heard about a Nature and Wellbeing Act, an international climate deal, and action to combat serious crime. I know that our viewers will be looking forward to seeing it happen.

Thank you!

You can wake up now. 

Of course, these are all weighty and complex subjects and, nature can’t solve all the serious social and economic problems we have to face.

But I hope you agree that protecting our natural world has a role to play in many of the biggest challenges faced by all the political parties. Protecting our natural world needs to be at the core of every manifesto, not just a box to be ticked. With 100 days to go, let’s call on all parties to take the chance to tell us how protection of the natural world will be part of their programme for better government. 

And you can start by voting for Bob.