After a successful launch in Cardiff Bay I’d like to share some of the findings from the Wales chapter of the State of Nature report in this blog with you.We have seen many of the alarming trends in the main report being true in Wales, with different groups of plants and animals continuing to decline. In Wales we are losing our birds, wildlife and natural places fast. I’ve listed some headlines below:• More than one in six plants in Wales such as the small-flowered catchfly and corn buttercup are considered threatened. • 63% of Welsh butterflies are declining - we’ve lost more than three quarters of Welsh pearl-bordered fritillaries in recent decades. • Corn bunting and turtle dove have disappeared completely as regular breeders in Wales and numbers of breeding upland wading birds, such as curlew, lapwing and golden plover, have declined by 80% in recent decades.Photo: lapwing
• More than a third of all woodland species such as spreading bellflower and narrow-leaved helleborine, and lungwort lichens are declining in Wales. • A third of all widespread Welsh moths are severely declining.• There are five native species of reptile and six species of amphibian in Wales and all are declining. Photo credit: slow worm by Ben Andrew
But perhaps the most important message which comes from this landmark report is that of endeavour and success. Knowledge is one of our greatest assets in the drive for sustainable development in Wales. Knowing what we have and in many cases what we could have, is essential to understanding how we can protect, maintain and restore our natural heritage. Hundreds of thousands of hours have been invested by expert volunteers providing the foundation of this report and the knowledge we have. This demonstrates the importance of collaborative effort and the need to invest more into improving our understanding, as well as putting our knowledge into action to protect and look after nature.We and the other 24 organisations involved in the report will take its findings to the Welsh Government and use it as a spring board for discussion and action. Now is the time to deliver for wildlife and our natural places in Wales. In his emotional speech, Iolo Williams gave us the plain facts, highlighting that one day we will have to look our grand-children in the eye and explain why we didn’t do more to save our wildlife. But he also painted a picture of what we could have in the future, if we invest in nature now.With this report we hope to bring people together to do their bit now, from politicians to decisions makers to farmers and the public - wildlife needs us now! Wildlife needs us to care, we need to give birds, butterflies and plants a home in our hearts and our lives.To see Iolo’s speech click here and to see the Wales chapter of the report please go to www.rspb.org.uk/stateofnature