As you know the RSPB has been campaigning for the protection of our marine environment, and our magnificent marine wildlife, for over a decade. We now have the national and international laws that should have resulted in our campaign coming to an end. However, significant concerns about how these laws are being implemented means we fear the needs of some of our most precious sea life are not being considered properly. As things stand there is a real risk that seabirds, and other marine wildlife, will remain unprotected.
Because of this our campaign has continued and, with your help, we have been collecting signatures in support of a call for ministers in governments across the UK to step up and safeguard our sea life at sea. Since March, over 48,000 people have stepped up for nature and signed the pledge.
On Tuesday 29 November the RSPB is holding an event to mark the second anniversary of the Marine Act becoming law. As part of our efforts to ensure that the law is implemented in a way that safeguards our seabirds and other marine wildlife, we will also use this event to show the UK Government how much support our campaign continues to receive.
This is an important time in the implementation phase. Next year there will be a public consultation on what site to protect, and very soon civil servants and Ministers will be short-listing the sites that will be included in that consultation. If we don’t act now to highlight the needs of seabirds and other marine wildlife, the sites they desperately need for feeding and breeding may not be included let alone designated. So, whilst we will celebrate the Marine Act we will also take the opportunity to call for it to be implemented in the right way.
The event will be hosted by the RSPB’s Conservation Director, Martin Harper, and be attended by the UK’s Minister for the Marine Environment, Richard Benyon MP. The event will offer you an opportunity to put your questions to the Minister in a ‘Question Time’ style session that will be streamed live on the Internet.
The event will be held between 10am and 1pm on Tuesday 29 November, in central London. Entry is free, but places in the live audience are limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis so please book your place now to avoid disappointment. As with the BBC’s Question Time programme, we would ask that you let us know the question you wish to ask in advance and, if selected, you will be called on to ask the Minister your question from the audience.
To book a place for yourself and no more than one guest, or submit a question, please e-mail steppingup@rspb.org.uk. You can book a place without submitting a question (if you want to submit a question later you can do so any time up until 18 November). You can also submit a question without booking a place – if your question is chosen it will be asked on your behalf by Martin Harper and you can watch the Minister answer live online. If you would like any more information on the event please e-mail the above address.
Thanks in advance for the support and we look forward to reading your questions, and meeting you on the day.
Steven and Emily