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MartinHarper

For some it is a crying baby and for others it is the fate of their football team.  But what if you were the Biodiversity Minister - what might make you restless?

Richard Benyon always gives me the impression that he has everything under control and nothing can phase him.  But, I wonder if even he might be losing a little sleep over a commitment that was made in the England Biodiversity Strategy which was published in August.

The Strategy says that "by 2020, we will see an overall improvement in the status of our wildlife and will have prevented further human-induced extinctions of known threatened species." 

I've been pondering this statement for a while and think that is right that we all lose a little sleep over whether we have the plans in place to realise this ambition.  We know that in the most recent analysis 30% of priority species were still declining .   And eight priority species were lost entirely from the UK between 2002 and 2008.

So, which species are on the brink now - the ones that the Minister could conceivably lose on his watch? 

We've been scratching our heads a bit in the office and we came up with this list.  We also asked our friends in Buglife, Plantlife and Butterfly Conservation.  This is our back of a fag packet assessment of those that we could lose this decade - but I bet there is more...

  • Birds: hen harrier, turtle dove, lesser spotted woodpecker, hawfinch
  • Fish: vendace
  • Invertebrates: white-clawed crayfish, wart-biter,  wood white, large blue, Duke of Burgundy, New Forest cicada, Mellet's downy-back beetle, Large marsh grasshopper and there are probably many more!
  • Plants: ghost orchid, Spring speedwell, fringed gentian

As I say, I am sure you could add others. 

This exercise has a serious point.  The Government has, quite rightly, committed to preventing threatened species becoming extinct in the life of this strategy.  Losing any species is a sign that we are failing to live sustainably. 

It follows, therefore, that the Governent will need to ensure that it has the right action plans in place to prevent any losses.  And, I would argue, it will need to go much further and do more to stop common species becoming rare.  This is the agenda for today, not tomorrow, or whenever the the global economy allows.

And before you ask, no my kids are fine - they sleep soundly thank you very much.  I just wish my football team would start winning.  Perhaps tomorrow...