Nature is a necessity - not a burden

By Henri Brocklebank

Director Conservation Policy and Evidence

Following the shocking risks posed by last week’s announcements of the retained EU Law Bill, The Growth Plan and a new planning and infrastructure Bill, Sussex Wildlife Trust today wrote to all Sussex MPs with the request for them to defend nature on behalf of the special sites and species within their constituency and on behalf of their constituents.

The overarching message from us is that nature is a necessity and not a burden, and that the current attack on environmental policy is unacceptable, and they should act promptly to stop it.

Each letter made clear reference to key sites and issues in the MPs own constituency and was accompanied by a request to meet up and discuss their role in defending nature.

We have maps of each Sussex constituency showing the potential networks for nature. The bitter truth is that Nature’s Recovery is in agonizing free-fall, whilst we work together to ensure that the very basics of nature’s protection are in place.

Below is an example of a letter sent – this particular one to Huw Merriman MP, who represents the constituency of Bexhill and Battle.

We hope over time to visit every Sussex MP and do what we can to help each of them to #defendnature.

Please contact your own MPs, You can find a template letter and details of how to contact your MP here.

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Dear Huw,

Please defend nature at the Conservative Party Conference

No doubt you have already received communications from your constituents in reaction to the government’s attack on nature. We are writing today to expand on these concerns and ask that you raise them at the upcoming Conservative Party Conference.

In recent days the government has made the following announcements, which constitute an attack on nature:

The Retained EU Law Bill - This legislation allows the government to revoke hundreds of laws that protect wild places and ensure standards for water quality, pollution and the use of pesticides. Defra has more EU retained law than any other government department, with 570 retained laws. Some of the key environmental laws at stake include:

• The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017: rules that protect hundreds of wildlife sites from unsustainable development and safeguard threatened species from destruction.
• The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017: the laws that set strict standards for rivers and streams, guarding against pollution and over-abstraction.
• The Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010: imposing limits on toxic air pollution, such as particulate matter, which is responsible for widespread environmental harm and serious harm to human health.
• The Marine Strategy Regulations 2010: requiring government to implement plans for the protection of our seas and vulnerable sea life.

A new planning and infrastructure bill as well as investment zones as part of the Growth Plan, which threaten to weaken vital protections for habitats and wildlife. Although the fully policy detail on these has yet to be set out, the Growth Plan states they will aim to “reduce the burden of environmental assessments,” with habitats and species protections specifically identified. It may be possible to improve on some existing regulations, but seeing them as a burden undermines the critical role they play and won’t allow us to achieve the government’s legally-binding target to halt nature’s decline by 2030.

The Growth Plan announced a ‘review’ of the long-awaited Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) – which were meant to reward farmers for restoring nature, preventing pollution from entering rivers and climate-proofing their businesses. The government’s Food Security Report 2021 identified climate change and biodiversity loss as the biggest threats to UK food production. Farming in harmony with nature is not just good for wildlife, it is critical for food security. Now is not the time for more reviews, dither, and delay – we must get on with the job and fast-track farming reforms that were promised in the manifesto the government was elected on. Defra have said that “all options are on the table” with the review, which gives us concern that they are potentially considering a return to unfair and unsustainable area-based payments. This is a concern that has been echoed by former Environment Secretary Michael Gove MP, alongside other senior Tory MPs, in a letter to The Times.

This is undoubtedly the most regressive action for the environment we have seen from a UK government for decades. The Conservative government was elected in 2019 on a manifesto pledge to deliver the “most ambitious environmental programme of any country on earth.” The weakening of vital environmental protections is a U-turn on that promise, which the government has no mandate to make.

A reckless agenda of deregulation and simplification threatens to undermine the Environment Act’s game-changing legislation, instead giving developer’s free rein to destroy our most important wildlife sites, and enabling polluters to poison our rivers with more sewage, serving only to damage our country and economy at a time when urgent restoration is so desperately needed.

For example, Pevensey Levels is one of the most important wildlife sites in the UK, but it is already struggling in the face of mounting pressures. Its poor state is driving real action on the ground from communities, landowners, companies, NGOs and public bodies, but all this work would be jeopardised if the legal requirements to improve water quality and reverse habitat decline were removed, along with the mechanisms that exist for landowners to fund this essential work. This will be devastating for the environment in your constituency and allow a wave of further intensive development across the south of the district.

We know you value the natural areas that define your Sussex constituency, and that you will appreciate how much your constituents value, love and depend upon our local landscapes and wildlife. As the elected member for such an important part of Sussex we ask that you will represent your constituency and raise your voice in dissent to the government’s plans for nature. Far from being a burden, nature is a necessity.

Please use your party conference next week to send a clear message to those making decisions to think again. We are especially seeking clarification that:

• The Retained EU Law Bill will not weaken or remove existing nature protections
• Government will maintain current protections until they are superseded or improved
• New planning legislation and investment zones will ensure net gains to nature
• The Government will implement ELMS and ensure food security and nature restoration go hand in hand.

Please help to defend nature by demanding answers to these questions and doing everything within your power to urge the Prime Minister and the government to put a stop to this attack, and instead ramp up action to protect our wildlife, our climate, and our futures.

I would very much like to meet with you to discuss what you can do to support nature at this time, including the vulnerabilities of wildlife in your own constituency and the concerns of your constituents. We want to help you to defend nature and will contact your office to arrange a meeting at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely

Henri Brocklebank

Director – Conservation Policy & Evidence

Sussex Wildlife Trust