Suffolk Wildlife Trust says law-makers must put the environment first
A Climate Change Committee report demands "ambitious action"
Last updated 23rd Jul 2024
Suffolk Wildlife Trust is calling for national law-makers to put the well-being of the environment- at the forefront of all their decisions.
It's as a Climate Change Committee has said that "ambitious action" is needed to protect the environment, across transport, buildings, industry and agriculture.
We spoke to Jack Cripps from the Trust who told us there are five key areas they would like the new Labour Government to address.
- Bring back the UK's lost wildlife
- To end river pollution and water scarcity
- Funding wildlife-friendly farming
- To enable healthy communities
- To tackle the climate emergency
According to Jack the UK is "one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet, with 1/6 six species at risk of being extinct from Britain."
Going on to say there has been a decline of nearly 20% in wildlife numbers since 1970.
One way in which Jack believes the government could move positively in restoring wildlife is through their biodiversity net gain policy (BNG).
A BNG makes sure that habitats for wildlife are left in a measurably better state than they were before the development.
For example, developers who chose to build on a site must leave the finished product with more or a better quality natural habitat then there was before construction started.
Jack told us that the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and other Trusts across the country would like to see this increase to 20%.
"It will create new housing, but it will also make more space, more habitat, more opportunity for nature."
The Trust also want more policy's in place to "help private land owners to manage their land better for nature and therefore better for the environment and therefore better for everyone."
Wildlife Friendly Farming
Regarding farming, Jack and the Trust want to see more regulations around pesticides as well as financial support to farmers to help achieve this.
"So we're talking about trying to reduce the need for pesticides and then the runoff that can have into our wider ecosystem, including rivers."
"Lots of farmers and farming communities are not getting the support that they need, but also they need the support to be able to do what they do in a nature-friendly way.
He commented that if the government provide this support then that makes the decision easier for farmers as it means "they can make a living but also achieve that whilst being wildlife friendly."
The Climate Crisis
We then spoke to Jack about the climate crisis and how in over the past few years there has been more extreme weather in Suffolk, such as flooding.
He explained how the environment can also be used to help with issues like this.
For example, areas of the Trust have floodplains.
"Our reserves and natural landscapes are able to take on all of that water that otherwise would be flooding into residential areas and in communities."
He went on to say how they are already seeing an impact on the environment and wildlife due to the climate crisis.
"We're seeing less butterflies, we're seeing less invertebrates. We're seeing that impact and the changes we can make to help combat climate change."
Moving forward Jack said that locally and across the country the Wildlife Trust is engaging with local MPs and lobbying for government to make the changes that are needed.