If humans are to live in harmony with nature, we need to find a way to decouple economic growth from environmental harm and that means finding a way to reflect the true value of nature in decision-making.

To me, this has always felt a bit like nature conservation’s Holy Grail.  Fix the economic system and the problems facing nature should subside.

So, I’m excited to be in Edinburgh this week to take part in the…

This is my annual update on how well the RSPB is doing in reducing its own environmental footprint.  We spend a lot of time encouraging others to adopt positive environmental behaviour, so it is only right that we try to practice what we preach.

Here, I pull out some highlights from this year’s report compiled by my colleague, Sarah Alsbury (who leads our environmental performance programme).

Our top priority has…

If my memory serves me right, the last time the environment received a mention in a Budget speech was in 2011 when George Osborne said “we will make sure that gold-plating of EU rules on things like habitats aren't placing ridiculous costs on British businesses”.  That was the start of a five year defence of the EU Nature Directives that started in England and spread across the European Union.

So, it was…

I have spent my whole career working in partnership with other organisations. 

Coalition working is not always easy.  It takes time to align hearts, minds and resources of different individuals and organisation.  But get it right and the rewards (in terms of impact and enjoyment) can be enormous.

Collaboration stems from the belief that we can achieve more together than we can as individuals.  What’s more, it is obvious…

The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill is currently in what’s known as “Committee stage” in the House of Commons.  This is when MPs get to examine and debate the detail of the Bill.

Yesterday, attention turned to the environment and there was an impressive exploration of the issues about which we have concerns (for example, see here) including:

• embedding the environmental principles in the Withdrawal…

Yesterday was a momentous day in Nepal. Five captive-reared vultures were released back into the wild as part of the Saving Asian Vulture Programme (SAVE).  This is an important milestone in the programme established to try to reverse the catastrophic decline in white-rumped vultures, and two other species of Gyps vulture (long-billed and slender-billed) all Critically Endangered as a result of the use of a non-steroidal anti…

Yesterday’s decision from Environment Secretary Michael Gove to back the ban on neonicotinoid pesticides is not only good news for bees and other wild pollinators, but also for evidence-based policy.

It’s been a long road to reach yesterday’s momentous decision: neonicotinoids have been in widespread use since the early noughties, and concerns began to emerge about their potential impacts on pollinators…

A fortnight ago in Manila, the RSPB led a delegation from the BirdLife International Partnership (including partners from Australia, India, Paraguay, Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Spain) to the 12th Conference of the Parties (COP12) of the UN Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). This is the key mechanism by which countries can cooperate to save species that don’t respect national borders.  Below Principal Policy…

At the beginning of this week, I wrote that action was needed to address the environmental governance gap created by the UK decision to leave the European Union.

I argued that If the UK Government wanted to be true to its promise not to weaken levels of environmental protection as it leaves the EU, it needed to ensure that the governance functions that we have as members of the EU are replaced at domestic level.

In his…

Every year, the RSPB publishes Bird Crime - the only centralised source of incident data for wild bird crime in the UK.  The latest report published today reflects the hard work and dedication of volunteers, the RSPB’s Investigations team, the police, the statutory nature conservation agencies and others in tackling wildlife crime.  While impressive (brilliantly presented online this year) the report is a sobering read…

Laws are only as effective as their enforcement.

So what happens when enforcement powers are lost? It surely follows that the effectiveness of the law diminishes?

This is our fear when the UK leaves the European Union.   

As a new report published today by IEEP and Client Earth highlights, EU institutions including the European Commission and the European Court of Justice provide us with a range of monitoring, compliance…

I try to end the week with a bit of good news for a Friday, and as we come to the end of a short series of blogs about Brexit and farming (where admittedly the news has been pretty mixed), I wanted to conclude by saying why I think we’ve got a fantastic opportunity to get things right and set out a future that is good for farming, good for nature, and good for people.

On Wednesday, Janet gave us some insights…

Today, I’m delighted to host the second of this week’s guest blogs reflecting on what Brexit might mean for hill farmers, following the publication of an RSPB commissioned report to understand the potential impacts. Chris Clark is a hill farmer and business consultant from the Yorkshire Dales.

Alongside his wife Fiona, Chris runs a 170 hectare beef and sheep farm in Langstrothdale in the Yorkshire Dales National…

Yesterday, I blogged about a new report on the potential impacts of Brexit for UK farm incomes and what this might mean for wildlife and the environment. As promised, today I’m hosting a blog from Janet Fairclough, RSPB Conservation Advisor in the North Pennines - the first of two guests giving a first-hand perspective on the challenges and opportunities that Brexit could present.

What does Brexit mean for nature…

Over the last fortnight, the media have focused on the state of the Brexit negotiations and preparations for a ‘no deal’ scenario. Against this background of continued noise and uncertainty, this week I am going to focus on what Brexit might mean for agriculture – a sector expected to be more profoundly impacted than most, and a land use that covers over 70% of the land area of the UK and the biggest driver of change…

I've been out and about a bit over the past week or so and have only now had the chance to reflect on the UK Government’s Clean Growth Strategy, which emerged last week. While it doesn’t deliver everything we want, I am feeling cautiously optimistic about the potential for this Strategy to deliver some wins for the climate and for nature. The big question, of course, is whether the UK Government can turn the…

On Saturday 360 people gave up their day to attend the RSPB’s AGM in central London.  All were RSPB members and most were active volunteers.

From our President to our Chair, Treasurer and our other trustees, to those that run our local groups across the UK or take part in our Phoenix Forum for teenagers, all give up their time and help us grow support to allow the RSPB to have the impact it does.

In total, our…

It’s the RSPB’s AGM tomorrow: the moment to celebrate what our charity has achieved over the past year, reflect on the challenges we face and also for members to ask us anything they like.

In the days running up to the AGM, I try to think of the possible questions that might come my way from cats to plastics, from fracking to windfarms.  Most years, someone manages to spring a surprise and ask something that…

Readers of this blog may remember that earlier this year the RSPB, Friends of the Earth and ClientEarth began legal action against the Ministry of Justice because of new rules brought in by the UK government which made it harder for people in England and Wales to go to court to protect the environment (see here). Last Friday, the High Court ruled in our favour, when Mr Justice Dove said that crucial additions were needed…

The RSPB has a long history of working in the UK Overseas Territories including, of course, those in the Caribbean which have been so badly hit by Hurricane Irma (about which my colleague Elizabeth Radford has written here).  In that time, we have undertaken some pretty big projects.  And today, I want to tell you about another one: the Gough Island Restoration programme.  Gough is part of the UK Overseas Territory of Tristan…

At the RSPB’s parliamentary reception last night, it was good to hear Environment Secretary Michael Gove reiterate his desire to enhance the natural environment.  Clearly the detail behind that ambition will be included within the much anticipated 25 year environment plan.

Image courtesy of Andy Hay, RSPB Images

Michael Gove has asked the Natural Capital Committee to advise him on what success should look like…

All across the northern hemisphere, the southward autumn migration of birds is now in full swing. This migration is undeniably perilous, with a host of natural and now increasingly human-induced factors all taking their toll on the many millions of migrants that undertake these journeys out of necessity to find safe wintering grounds.

On one part of UK territory, the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area (SBA) of Cyprus,…

The latest countries to be in the firing line during this year's hurricane season include three UK Overseas Territories - Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Turks & Caicos.  Our thoughts are with those affected by the storms especially our partners with whom we work to protect the incredible wildlife in the Caribbean.  The devastation left in the wake of the storms will be horrific and my hope is that when the…

Deciding to introduce any form of predator control (lethal or non-lethal) is something we never take lightly. It’s always based on evidence* and guided by our Council-agreed policy.

The RSPB’s approach to any type of predator control means that we first seek evidence of a problem, check whether there is a non-lethal solution and if so implement that. In many cases this does the job needed.

One such example…

I’m rebooting my "Good new for a Friday" series and what better way to do so than to reflect on some great positive renewable energy stories that emerged during August?

First, it was good to get back to my desk after my holiday and learn that the Secretary of State has approved a windfarm off the coast of East Anglia. We have worked closely with the developer, Scottish Power Renewables, to reach a solution…