I am often asked what role nature reserves play in modern nature conservation.  There are so many things that we want from land - for example food, clean water and flood protection - some believe that our emphasis should be on engineering wildlife into working landscapes rather than worrying about isolated oases which are expensive to buy and hard to maintain.  Of course, we work with land managers to help provide space…

The Prime Minister has promised to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of next month.   This action will signal the beginning of the end of our membership of the European Union - with March 2019 becoming the deadline for the completion of negotiations.  

So it is time for the UK Government to demonstrate it understands the jeopardy and opportunity that Brexit poses to the environment and that it has a comprehensive…

We don't yet know the future of our relationship with the European Union - the Brexit negotiations still have a long way to go.  But whatever happens, we do know that the UK and its wildlife will remain inextricably linked with the European continent and many of the threats (such as climate change) require responses beyond natural boundaries.

I had a great reminder of this as I joined the BirdLife European partners…

...show the love for everything affected by climate change.

Need inspiration?

Watch this film by Ridley Scott Associates, featuring a bespoke poem written by the award-winning Anthony Anaxagorou, and brought to life by Charles Dance, Miranda Richardson, David Gyasi and Jason Isaacs with music by Elbow and the NHS Choir.  

It's a love song like you've never heard before.  It has been produced for The Climate Coalition…

A fortnight ago, I was checking the press release we were issuing in response to the latest plans to develop Lodge Hill.  In it we referred to the 90% decline in our nightingale population in the last fifty years.  I paused on the 90% figure.  It didn't seem right.  I knew the decline was significant, but for some reason I hadn't equated the nightingale decline to that suffered by turtle dove or willow tit.  So, I…

The RSPB’s latest report on crimes against wild birds; Birdcrime 2015, goes live today. Although we’ve been publishing yearly reports on illegal killing of wild birds, this year the report is online. I am pleased to welcome Angela Smith MP, and Hen Harrier Species Champion, to give her reflections on the report and what it means for one species in particular - the hen harrier.

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Since 1973, membership of the EU has played a significant role in shaping environmental policy in the UK. As stated by the Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee in a letter to the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU last July: “There are few areas...where the decision to leave the EU will have a more widespread impact than the environment.”

Although the Prime Minister’s speech on Brexit last…