Challenging times

By Jess Price

Conservation Officer

On Monday we will have a new Prime Minister. With so many major current and future challenges, there’s no doubt that whoever gets the job will have to hit the ground running.

Sussex Wildlife Trust wrote to all the Conservative MPs in Sussex at the start of this leadership contest to remind them that nature is in crisis and that the impact of this on our communities and economy is huge. We asked that they ensure that the Conservative Party’s new leader, and our new Prime Minister, upholds the commitments in the 2019 manifesto and builds an ambitious programme to reverse the decline of wildlife, level-up access to nature, and tackle climate change for the benefit of us all. These commitments were vital in 2019 – but the need to prioritise this work intensifies.

A lot has happened since then. The challenges people face just to put food on the table and heat their homes are now immense. Thinking about wildlife in crisis and climate change can seem of less importance but a healthy, functioning environment is at the core of solving many of our problems. The evidence is clear - without a healthy and recovered natural environment we will never achieve true social and economic security. At the core of the nation’s food security for example, sits the need for a healthy functioning ecosystem, without which agriculture simply cannot thrive.

We urgently need practical measures that will help people with fuel costs now and ensure sustainable and affordable energy supplies moving forward, we need a sustainable farming system that ensures food security and we need waste water systems that don’t pump gallons of sewage into our rivers and seas. Of course these challenges can’t be solved overnight, but we do know that investing in nature is critical to achieving all these things and more. Whether its rewetting our degraded peat bogs to allow them to be the fantastic natural carbon stores they historically have been [1]. Or creating integrated wetlands that slow the flow of water into drains and help filter out pollution [2]. Or creating a system that supports farmers to restore soil health and produce healthy food that nourishes people and our planet [3].

We have to remember that nature is not a 'nice to have', it is fundamental to all our wellbeing and prosperity. The Sussex Wildlife Trust, alongside the other 45 Wildlife Trusts of the UK, won’t let our new Prime Minister or our local MPs forget this.

You can help by signing the Warm this Winter petition demanding the government acts now to help people struggling with energy bills this winter.

References:

[1] Let Nature Help - How nature’s recovery is essential for tackling the climate crisis

[2] Sussex Flow Initiative – Celebrating 5 years of Natural Flood Management

[3] The path to UK food security - Wildlife & Countryside Link policy briefing