When we conceived the first State of Nature report in 2013, we wanted to create a common evidence base about about what was happening to our wildlife in the UK and on the 14 UK Overseas Territories. Our hope was that this would unite the sector to provide a shared message to politicians and other decision-makers to stimulate action.
With the 2013 and 2016 reports, compiled mainly thanks to the dedication of thousands of volunteer naturalists, I think we succeeded in our first objective: the headline statistics have been used by loads of different organisations and individuals and are now central to nature conservation conversation across the UK.
Ben Andrew's picture of a turtle dove - our fast declining migratory bird (rspb-images.com)
But has the action followed?
The glass half-full view would be that...
...we have secured positive public commitments from governments such as (in England) the ambition to restore nature in a generation and the desire to ensure environmental protection is the centrepiece of the future agriculture subsidy system with the prospect of new legislation (including an Environment Bill) or for the promise of 4 million square kilometres of marine protected areas around UK Overseas Territories
The glass half-empty view would be that...
...action on the ground has yet to match these words. Daft development proposals on protected sites for a golf course in East Sutherland, houses in Kent and motorway relief road on the Gwent Levels have yet to be kicked into touch. We have had to fight to keep what we already have (through the defence of the nature directives and legal challenges).
...funding for nature conservation has collapsed over the past decade and there are no current plans to replace the £428 million that will be lost when we leave the European Union.
...illegal killing of wildlife (such as birds of prey) continues
...the nation's most important wildlife sites are not being adequately monitored and of those that have been assessed, just a third are in favourable condition. Just 4% of UK Overseas Territories on land are protected
...we have yet to find a way to reduce the ecological footprint as demonstrated by the risk to tropical deforestation posed by UK consumption of commodities such as palm oil, beef and cocoa
It is easy to conclude that our current path of economic development continues to come at the expense of the natural world.
And that's why Chris Packham's Walk for Wildlife on Saturday 22 September matters.
We need to demonstrate to politicians that people care about wildlife and that our current path is just not good enough. We need a new approach that grows our prosperity and restores the natural world. This starts with strong environment legislation but must be backed up by resources and institutions that enforce the laws and holds government to account for its actions.
We need to create an build an unstoppable movement for change. People provide the space for politicians to act locally, nationally and globally so we need to harness the public passion for nature and turn it into political pressure. It is our job, anywhere in the world, to make it desirable for politicians to act for nature and to raise the cost of political failure.
So, this Saturday, come to London, show you care and take part in the Walk for Wildlife.
Just a quick comment on what we've been doing to promote this...
First, it's worth remembering that it is not 'our' walk. That said, we do support the spirit of the walk and have done so through social media, through emailing our supporters and through actively encouraging other partners/networks to promote it.
We shall see what we can do in terms of further promotion in the run up to the day including looking at web presence.
And yes, we are exploring new ways to try to have campaigning impact - which can be but is not always about numbers of people signing pledges. We are looking at getting deeper and more personal commitments.
Thanks for the challenge!
Best wishes,
Martin