This general election, remember to ask the nature question

Four years ago, following the publication of the first State of Nature report, I was keen to stimulate a debate about what we needed to do to live in harmony with nature.  So I asked a range of people to propose One Big Thing for Nature.  The one that has always stuck in my mind was the simple challenge laid by our Vice-President, Chris Packham.  He rightly argued that conservation organisations had learnt how to improve the natural environment by recovering threatened species, restoring habitats and even cleaning up pollution.  But he concluded,

"We can make the difference but just not on the necessary scale. And this is the crux of it. We neither have the space (enough reserves), the money (we will never have enough) or sadly the influence over the bigger picture. But you do, because you have a free vote and the choice about how you spend the pound in your pocket. We must learn to elect decision makers at all levels of governance who both understand and care about wildlife, it has to be a central part of their personal manifesto." 

And so, as all minds turn to 8 June and the General Election, we are encouraging all our members to ask prospective parliamentary candidates on the doorstep or at hustings about their plans to help nature.  To help, we have come up with a handy set of questions which can be used to tease out political intentions...

1. How will you ensure that our vital laws protecting wildlife and habitats remain strong after Brexit?
2. How will you ensure that the way we farm and use the land is sustainable and helps nature?
3. Is your party committed to completing the designation of a comprehensive and well managed network of protected areas at sea?
4. Has your party committed to achieving our climate ambitions? Will you invest in clean energy?
5. How do you think the UK should continue to show global leadership on climate change and nature protection?
6. Connecting with nature has numerous health and wellbeing benefits, how does your party intend to help people to re-engage with the natural environment?
7. What are your personal commitments to help nature in our constituency?

You can also demonstrate your desire for all the UK’s political parties to make positive commitments for nature and the environment by signing our petition then share this campaign and encourage as many others to sign up as you can.  Throughout the election we will remind politicians and political parties that people want nature to be on their agenda. 

So go on, ask the nature question, sign our petition and urge prospective parliamentary candidates to use their voice for nature.

Photo: wren singing by Paul Chesterfield (rspb-images.com)