WHILE we are all aware of the current cost of living, fuel and climate crises, the government is creating another - a state of nature emergency.

Nature is under attack from plans by the UK Government to tear up thousands of laws which protect our wildlife and our environment.

Dubbed “the Bulldozer Bill” (officially the Retained EU law bill) the new Bill, is to be brought in by the end of this year and threatens to wipe away crucial laws to protect wildlife.

The new bill is being done purely for profit and will decrease our water quality, pollute our beaches and remove the little protection our countryside has against development and other threats.

The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world in a recent state of nature report from the RSPB.

One in seven of every UK species is at risk of extinction and less than five per cent of our land protected effectively for nature.

We are in a State of Nature emergency, yet the current government stand to deplete it even more.

Why does it matter? All of us are affected by the environment and more than ever it has been demonstrated that we cannot live without nature.

The future of food and farming rely on nature and more pollution of our rivers affects the water we drink.

More species are at risk and more wildlife is threatened with extinction.

The climate emergency and wildlife crises are not even a priority issue on the government’s current agenda but at COP26 and the recent COP15 (biodiversity conference) the UK government made warm words and promises to address this.

The biodiversity crisis is as important as the climate crisis. What has happened to the Green Recovery promised?

We cannot afford to wait until the next election with the hope that a different political party will address these issues. By then the damage will be done. These proposals will bring long term irrevocable damage to our environment, our health and our welfare.

They go against the explicit promises the Conservative Party made in their 2019 manifesto and the mandate they were elected to govern on. They need to be stopped before it is too late.

What can we do? Write to your MP and local councillors.

Add your voice to show your support to protect our wildlife and why it is important.

Ask them to take positive action to stand up for nature.

Further details can be found on the Wildlife Trust website, just one of many organisations campaigning against these proposals.

Visit: “WritetoThem.com” to find details of your MP and send a message. We have no option left to us but to ask our political leaders to represent us, their electorate.

Together, we must  #DefendNature.

Anne Tucker