It's a brand new year and there will be plenty of opportunities to take action for nature in the next 12 months. Take a spin around the UK with us and see what issues are coming up this year.
Click one of the links below to jump directly to the section of your choosing, or continue to scroll down to see what we've got coming up across the UK.
UK Headquarters
England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
UK Headquarters - by Steven, Alex and Kim
Last year saw the successful launch of our Community Campaigners pilot project, that involved our campaigners across the UK working on inspiring local campaigns to save nature. In 2023 we want to build on the success of this project and get even more people involved in campaigning. Right now, we are continuing to work to bring you new ways of taking action for nature in your community. Stay tuned for updates on how to get involved later this year!
We're also continuing to work hard to improve our digital campaigning tools, to make sure that when you take an online action with us it is as effective as it can be in this very busy arena.
You can contact us directly at: campaigns@rspb.org.uk
England - by Pooja and Tony
There are many issues that face nature in England, and 2023 is going to be a challenging year. However, here are our top five (of many!).
This bill will continue its passage through parliament in 2023. It is hugely important for nature as it threatens to repeal hundreds of vital wildlife-protection regulations by the end of 2023. It must be stopped, and we are working hard with many others to achieve this.
If done well this could be good for nature, and that’s what we are pressing for. However, equally, we have concerns about weakening of the planning rules and the threat this poses to nature.
We need the new Environment Land Management Schemes to support the ambitions of farmers to deliver for nature while producing healthy food. But progress is slow, lacking clear vision and join up which important nature and climate targets. We will be working together with our partners over the coming months to forge a consensus around the future of farming, with the aim of encouraging the UK Government to do more, and faster.
We are also looking forward to a possible ban on sandeel fishing in our coastal waters, which will be hugely beneficial to puffins and other seabirds.
We will also continue to campaign on minimising the impacts of a wide range of potentially damaging projects on nature and wildlife, such as along the Suffolk Coast, Tipner in Portsmouth, the Wash.
We’ll need your support on all of these, and more, in 2023!
We have also developed the Action for Nature toolkit with resources to help you engage with your local representatives on both these issues and other nature issues that matter to you.
You can contact us directly at: campaigns.england@rspb.org.uk
Scotland - by Jason and Lottie
There’s another busy year ahead for our campaigning in Scotland.
We’re continuing to urge action on the Scottish Government’s biodiversity strategy to ensure it prioritises species recovery, and sets the bar high ahead of a long-awaited Natural Environment Bill, which we might get a glimpse of before the year is out.
Farming remains a huge priority and opportunity, with an Agriculture Bill expected in the autumn. We will continue to bang the drum for nature and climate friendly farming, urging Scottish Ministers to reform the way public funds support our farmers so that instead of simply rewarding the ownership of lots of land, we incentivise measures such as hedge and tree planting, wetland creation and a reduction in pesticide use. This could transform the fortunes of iconic species such as lapwing and curlew which have been in decline.
We’ll be working to get the grouse moor and muirburn licensing bill over the line, which will hopefully put an end to illegal killings of birds of prey, and keep our peatlands wet as they should be.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on offshore wind developments. There’s a massive amount coming down the pipeline, posing a real challenge if we are to balance our net zero and nature recovery ambitions. Steering these developments to sites where they will have the least impact on our already under-pressure seabird populations is going to be tough, and we’ll be pushing for other measures to help the likes of gannets, guillemots and puffins.
Your help, as always, will be essential in getting the best results.
You can contact us directly at: campaigns.scotland@rspb.org.uk
Wales - by Eleni and Tamsin
2023 is going to be a hugely important year for RSPB Cymru.
The Agriculture (Wales) Bill is about to conclude Stage 1 as it passes through Senedd scrutiny on its way to becoming an Act in Welsh law. During Stage 2 in the coming months a specialised committee will consider amendments to the Bill and then in Stage 3 post-Easter Members of the Senedd (MSs) will conduct a final scrutiny and debate before the Bill ascends to law.
Every stage between now and the ascension of the Bill will be a crucial influencing period as we push for amendments that will make sure the Bill is aligned with nature and people. Your actions so far have been crucial in demonstrating support for a Bill that helps farmers to protect nature. It will be crucial to continue to demonstrate this support as the next stages unfold.
RSPB Cymru will continue to influence MSs by showcasing public support for a Bill that works to restore nature, we will focus on events and communications to put your message across.
If you still haven’t taken our action, this is your last chance!: Build a food and farming system that works for people, nature and climate
Nature Positive means to halt and reverse the loss of nature by 2030 and achieve recovery so that nature is thriving once more by 2050.
At the UN biodiversity Conference (COP15) in December 2022, almost 200 countries signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), this symbolic agreement commits countries to taking steps to halting and starting to reverse nature loss globally by 2030.
Wales is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world and therefore will need to take strong, concerted steps if it wants to adhere to the agreement.
Wales has a strong history of pioneering legislation and actions, for example the Wales Environment Act, the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (2015) and being the first government to declare a climate and nature emergency in 2021.
However, Wales has done very little to replace vital environmental protections that were lost in the Brexit process, even falling behind Westminster, which introduced its Environment Act in 2021. New laws need to go beyond protecting existing nature, we need to be proactive and set legally binding targets to ensure that we halt and start to reverse the loss of nature. Crucially, previous laws have failed to set legally binding actions, therefore creating little accountability.
What Wales desperately needs is a new Bill in the next (2023-24) legislative programme, to set in law a duty to achieve a Nature Positive Wales, underpinned by legally binding nature recovery targets and robust, independent environmental governance.
This is the single most important commitment that Welsh Government can make this year to start to turn the tide on nature loss by 2030.
So far the Welsh Government has dragged it’s feet, but now that the Global Biodiversity Framework has been agreed, there are no more excuses. We must see a provision for this new law in the Government’s legislative schedule this year.
Keep an eye out for a new Climate Cymru campaign to influence First Minister Mark Drakeford, asking him to prioritise this vital new legislation in this year’s Senedd schedule.
Wales is globally important for breeding seabirds. Seabirds are a key indicator of the overall health of marine ecosystems, but populations around the UK have fallen drastically in recent decades, including some in Wales. Sadly, threats to seabirds are increasing
We believe that issues in the Marine environment are not given the public and political profile that they deserve and as a result action is slow.
Seabirds face a range of threats from fishing, marine development and climate change. We believe that more must be done to boost awareness and to tackle these issues before irrevocable harm comes to some of Wales most iconic and important species.
This year the Welsh Government needs to step up its commitments, in particular to:
Welsh Government agreed to a seabird strategy last year, but no material plans or funding have materialised. That’s why this year (we will be petitioning the Climate Change Minister Julie James to make a legislative commitment to a seabird strategy this year).
Join us in calling upon the Welsh Government to take urgent action to protect Wales’ marine wildlife, including seabirds.
If you would like to get in contact or have any questions about campaigns please get in touch: campaigns.wales@rspb.org.uk.
Northern Ireland - by Ruby
At RSPB NI we’re feeling excited and optimistic for the year ahead.
Through our Nature Positive NI campaign, we hope to see an ambitious Biodiversity Strategy formulated in 2023. In this UN Decade of Ecological restoration, our team is worker harder than ever to ensure more of Northern Ireland is protected and species are restored.
RSPB NI will also be placing pressure on governmental departments to formulate Northern Ireland’s first ever Climate Action Plan as a result of the Climate Change Act that was passed late last year. We will be working to peruse a plan that puts nature at the heart of its goals, ensuring no species get left behind.
This year, your continued support for our fight to save nature will be incredibly important. Every action you take with RSPB NI never goes unnoticed – so thank you!
You can contact us directly at campaigns.ni@rspb.org.uk
(Plant shoot image courtesy of pxhere.com/en/photo/922107)