One Big Thing for Nature: guest blog post by Rob Wilson

Following the launch of the State of Nature report, I am keen to stimulate a debate about what else we need to do to live in harmony with nature. Over the next few weeks, people from differing perspectives will propose their One Big Thing for Nature. Today, I am delighted to welcome Dr Robert Wilson, Senior Lecturer in Conservation Biology at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter.

Biodiversity conservation as an end in itself
Despite a national fixation with natural history, Britain’s biodiversity is increasingly under threat. Some rare species have been saved by the targeted actions of conservation organisations, but wayside wildlife continues to decline. To restore a landscape rich in biodiversity, conservation may need greater recognition as a legitimate land-use in its own right. Biodiversity provides benefits for humanity ("ecosystem services"), but these are not the raison d’être for conservation. Biodiversity has to be an end in itself, rather than simply an attractive side-benefit of what else we use the environment for. Not convinced? Here are some reasons why.

Doesn’t Britain's wildlife benefit from existing land-uses?
Before humans changed Britain’s landscape irrevocably, many species probably depended on natural disturbances to survive. Traditional management serendipitously created conditions where such species could thrive; but the margins of our intensively exploited landscape no longer provide sufficient habitat for these species. If we want nature to flourish outside nature reserves, then conservation may also need to be a goal in locations primarily devoted to other purposes. Funded landscape-scale projects, where conservation practitioners advise land managers or regional planners, could be essential to achieve this.

Don’t protected areas already conserve biodiversity?
It sometimes feels like the business of conservation is to reduce declines, when in fact we should be dealing in recovery. Nature reserves represent a tiny fraction of Britain’s land area; designated sites such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest increase protected area coverage, but only a fraction of these are managed primarily (or at all) for nature conservation. Increasing the coverage of protected areas that are managed directly for conservation could help us to avoid consigning remnant biodiversity to a few reserves in otherwise hostile landscapes. Again, properly funded landscape-scale projects may be essential.

Don't planning regulations already protect biodiversity?
Planning can play a vital role in safeguarding biodiversity: my own interest in wildlife was inspired by childhood visits to London's Green Belt. But mounting demands for housing increase the need to ensure the protection of important locations for biodiversity, whether greenfield or brownfield. We cannot dismiss legislation designed to protect biodiversity as "red tape". Where commitments are made to offset unavoidable losses of habitat, our aim should be improvements for biodiversity, rather than no net loss.

Aren't social and economic needs more pressing?
The message needs to be made clearly that safeguarding biodiversity is itself a central part of sustainable development. By diminishing the importance of biodiversity relative to conventional "land-uses", we reduce the opportunities for nature itself to provide a host of services freely, affecting food, water, and our own health and well-being. We do not fully understand how biodiversity loss affects these and other ecosystem services: so rather than predicating conservation on measurable natural capital, why not conserve biodiversity for itself, now, before it is too late?

The tangible value of a nightingale’s song (or a cuckoo’s, or a robin’s) may be debatable, but the cost of its disappearance from everyday life would be intolerable.

Do you agree with Rob Wilson?  And what would be your One Big Thing for Nature? 

It would be great to hear your views.