It seems crazy that in twenty-first century UK we still have to say it, but there is absolutely no excuse for the abuse and barriers that our Black communities face every day.  Racism is not acceptable.  And it is clear that our sector needs to do more to combat its impacts on our employees, volunteers, members, supporters and visitors. 

It should be a national scandal that there is not equal access to nature (see for example…

It’s now clear that yet another tragedy of this awful virus will be lost livelihoods and financial struggle for many.   

Friday’s economic figures hit the headlines when the Office for National Statistics reported that GDP had fallen by 10.4% in the first three months of 2020 and by 20.4% in April.  .  We do not yet have the unemployment figure, but this is clearly likely to rise with the Office for Budget suggesting…

This week, we completed a review of our advocacy priorities in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.  While we are clearly stepping up our calls for nature to be at the heart of the economic recovery (more on this later in the week), we are also determined to finish what we started in calling for an ambitious global deal for nature, reform to our food and farming system and new laws to drive nature’s recovery across the UK.…

This week, I took part in the latest Global Council meeting of BirdLife International.  Unsurprisingly, we took some time to compare notes on the responses that partners around the world are experiencing in light of Covid-19 - a mix of the good (including the green recovery package outlined by the New Zealand Government), the bad (massive reduction in funding for protected areas in countries like Mexico) and the ugly …

We all need some good news especially on World Environment Day.  So, I am delighted to share some excellent news about a boost for nature conservation in the UK's Overseas Territories (UKOTs).  Below, my colleague Jonathan Hall, who leads our work in the UKOTs, reports on the support we have secured from the UK Government.

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The UK Overseas Territories hold over 94% of unique British…

I usually spend summer half term at my wife’s family hut on the Northumberland coast.  This year was meant to be different because I was due to be in Norway with the Cairngorms Connect team – to be inspired by landscapes which are analogous to the vision we have for the Highlands.  Instead, of course, I spent a week at home.  To expand my home range, I fixed my bike and explored the Cambridgeshire countryside…

Today is International Biodiversity Day – a chance to celebrate the millions of species with which we share this beautiful planet. 

I have always believed in the intrinsic value of species – the right for a species to exist.  It is the primary reason why I work in conservation.  But I also know that nature is fundamental to human existence – helping to provide food, regulate our climate, provide clean water,…

Last night the Prime Minister outlined the headlines of a "conditional plan" for how we might emerge from the lockdown.  We were, of course, listening very carefully and will respond to any detailed guidance that emerges from political leaders across the UK.  Our latest statement can be found here.

While there is intense interest in how government restrictions will be lifted, we are also keen to ensure the right…

Tomorrow is International Dawn Chorus Day - a day to celebrate the early morning swell of birdsong.  Even if you don’t want to get up with the birds at dawn, it’s the perfect time to throw open your windows and let the birdsong in.   

My daughter and I ventured out at dawn this morning to our local common and we were greeted with a cacophony from blackbirds, blackcaps, chiffchaffs, wrens and robins.  It was very…

The consultation phase of the review of the RSPB’s policy on gamebird shooting has ended, so I thought it would be timely to provide an update of progress. 

As you may recall, we are doing the review because there is growing public concern and mounting scientific evidence about the environmental impacts of the most intensive form of shooting especially driven grouse moor management (which involves shooting our native…

To mark the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day, the CEO of BirdLife International, Patricia Zurita, has written to the Secretary General of the UN António Guterres to convince the UN to include the right to a healthy natural environment in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  

The text of the letter is shown below. 

Given the growing understanding of the value of nature to our own species, this right seems long…

The coronavirus pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on global society.  My thoughts are with all of those affected by the virus and especially those working on the frontline in health services around the world.  All of us that have friends or families cared for by the National Health Service in this country are hugely grateful for the incredible work carried out by our medical professionals.

As I wrote last week, the…

Since I last wrote on 17 March, our whole way of life has been upended.  From a personal perspective, it's probably been the most challenging period of my career and arguably some of the most challenging weeks in the long history of the RSPB.  We’ve closed our nature reserves, halted our field work, postponed some vital conservation work such as the Gough Island Restoration Programme, brought home colleagues from…

As I said in my previous post, we have been doing a lot of contingency planning in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is to make sure that as much of the RSPB's work keeps going as possible. That is the aim, but we also must be practical and ensure staff safety and project feasibility. It will sometimes involve making some tough decisions.

One area of work where we have had to make an incredibly difficult but essential…

It is now inevitable yet still deeply disappointing that I shall have to report postponements of major conservation initiatives over the coming days.  Today's has particular symbolism.  October 2020 was supposed to be the month the world made a renewed commitment to tackle the biodiversity crisis. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has been working to develop an ambitious global framework of action for the…

This past week has been intense and deeply unsettling.  It is now clear that our lives will be massively disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Like everyone else, we have been doing contingency planning designed to keep the RSPB's work going, adhering to government advice and of course playing our part in keeping our people safe.

While none of us know how this will unfold, I am determined to carry on sharing information…

On Monday, I posed some environmental tests for the Budget: to back up strong political commitments to restore nature in a generation with adequate resourcing; to reverse declines in public spending on nature; and also to ensure the ensure that the UK Government sounds consistent and coherent on the environment.

The new Chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his first Budget and what follows below is our assessment based…

The conversation about how nature can help us tackle climate change has become dominated by trees.  Today, the RSPB publishes a report reviewing the evidence about how different approaches to woodland expansion can help or indeed hinder our attempts to address the climate and ecological emergency.  This (slightly longer than usual) blog gives outlines the key messages from the report.

Conifer plantation alongside fridd…

The Super Year of 2020 isn’t quite panning out as anticipated.  First the floods and now coronavirus is dominating the headlines.

Despite growing and understandable fears about the impact of the epidemic, the UK Government must find time to retain its focus on backing up its promises to restore nature in a generation. 

This means ensuring the package of Brexit laws (for Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries) passing…

With just eight months left before the world is due to agree a new global framework for nature under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, my colleague Georgina Chandler reflects on her week taking part in discussions about the post-2020 agenda in Rome.   

These talks matter as the resulting agreement will become the global plan to tackle the biodiversity crisis and is the plan which ratifying parties like the UK will…

At last year’s AGM, the Chair of the RSPB’s Council announced that we would be reviewing our policy on gamebird shooting.  Today, I provide details about how we shall run the review and how you can give us your views.

Background to the review

We are undertaking the review because there is growing public concern and mounting scientific evidence about the environmental impacts of the most intensive form of shooting…

Following the General Election at the end of last year, several significant pieces of environmental legislation have been published: the Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment Bills.   You can find a critique of the Agriculture Bill here, the UK Fisheries Bill here and today I provide (thanks to our team) a more detailed assessment of the Environment Bill which was published a fortnight ago.  At the end of this blog I explain…

It’s Valentine’s Day and so it’s time to show the love.

This year, as we are part of The Climate Coalition, the RSPB is asking people to share their personal pledge for nature to inspire others to do the same.  We have asked people to write or film their pledge and share it on social media using #ShowtheLove.

The video of my pledge (which was taken on a particularly bad hair day) was posted this week…

Last week saw the opening salvo in the negotiations about the future of the UK-EU trading relationship.  The EU released its draft negotiation mandate (33 pages) and the UK its written statement (2 pages) on the same topic. 

While both sides generally take very different approaches to negotiations – the EU being very open so that the 27 Member States can align behind a position while the UK keeps its cards close to its…

Last week saw the publication of a new UK Fisheries Bill, one of the government’s flagship pieces of post-Brexit legislation. This is the second time that the UK government has tried to pilot a fisheries bill through the Houses of Parliament. The temptation to bring back a carbon copy of the 2018 Bill must have been high, but it was clear to many that big changes were needed if government were to match its stated ambition…