Wildlife and Countryside Link

It is another important day for nature in the Lords, with 2nd reading of the Water (Special Measures) Bill due this afternoon 🗣 The Bill targets pollution by water companies, one of many threats facing the freshwater environment 🌊 We welcome the Bill, but would like to see it sharpened, with stricter requirements to tackle pollution & legal assurance that fines will always be spent on freshwater recovery 🐟 Read more in our briefing 👇 https://lnkd.in/ekXY4_sn

Join the team at Link! We're looking for two new policy officers to join us as part of the effort to make sure Government takes the action needed to meet its target to halt the decline of nature by 2030. You'll be working with some of the country's leading environmental organisations to develop bold shared policy positions, and helping communicate these to decision makers, influencers and parliamentarians. Find out more and apply via Environmentjob.co.uk: https://lnkd.in/e6NJa55X

It’s plain that national nature targets won’t be met without clear duties on polluting industries to reduce their impact on nature & help pay for restoration. Payments by companies for “Digital Sequence Information" could be one way to get funding for nature going. This will be a crucial theme & question at upcoming #COP16 nature talks in Colombia. The UK can show leadership on the global stage by taking action at home. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eHQqhd9Q Image: Northeast Wildlife

Our latest update on England’s progress towards protecting land & sea for nature shows giant strides are needed. There’s just 6 years left to meet the target to have 30% protected for nature, but our findings this year show: Amount of protected land has fallen to just 2.93%🥀 Amount of protected sea lags at 9.92%🌊 With countries about to gather for crucial COP16 nature talks in Colombia we’re calling for a rapid rescue plan for nature🚨 Read more👇 https://lnkd.in/esW_-Z_J

The Government's (legally binding) target to halt the decline of wildlife needs action on the ground from businesses and decision makers. But how do we make sure the chain of responsibility makes it to them from the Secretary of State? A new report published today by WWF-UK makes the case for Government to develop “nature-positive pathways”, setting out how different economic sectors should contribute to halting and reversing nature’s decline by 2030. It argues that Government should decide how much each sector must contribute to solving the key causes of nature-loss, based on how much that sector contributes to the problem, the cost and opportunities of change, and the impacts on people and businesses. Overall, the effort allocated to each sector should add up to meeting the targets. From there, the Government should work with businesses to set out the big policy levers needed for change in each sector, giving certainty for investment as well as clear accountability. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eykUEMU3

Leaders are speaking out: Richard Benwell, Chief Executive at Wildlife and Countryside Link, supports IEMA’s #GreenSkillsAtCOP campaign. He’s calling on you to stand with them in advocating for prioritising green skills at the upcoming COP16 Biodiversity Summit and COP29 Climate Summit. Make your voice heard. Join Richard and add your name to the campaign demanding action from COP leaders. Your support is essential for driving sustainable change. 🔗 Sign now: greenskillsatcop.iema.net 🎤: Richard Benwell #GreenSkillsAtCOP #LeadershipForChange #Sustainability #COP29 #GreenSkills

Creating new wetlands will have so many benefits. From fighting climate change by locking up carbon, to reducing flood risk & improving water quality. New mapping from WWT reveals the extensive areas across the UK that would benefit from wetland creation or restoration. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ern68Yik

Water company spending should give greater priority to green solutions for our waterways. Projects like reedbeds and wetlands to filter out pollution coming in up to 50% cheaper than those which focus on concrete & chemicals. Yet Ofwat is proposing just 2% of water company spending for the next 5 years going on them. Read more: https://lnkd.in/epWppQEs

New report from Oceana UK shows how vastly underestimated oil spills are. The Sea Slick report has uncovered that when permit breaches to release oil laced ‘produced water’ - typically excluded from analysis - are added to spills, oil pollution rises by a mammoth 43%. Many of these spills are happening in Marine Protected Areas, which are supposed to safeguard our most important ocean sites and species. Demand change today: https://lnkd.in/eQJeB7gs

Experiences in National Parks can be life-changing for young people but right now, just 6% of visitors are under 25. Faced with barriers such as limited public transport, and few opportunities to connect with and have their voices heard for wild, nature-rich spaces, young people are excluded from valuable experiences to connect with these precious landscapes. We're proud to support Campaign for National Parks' Youth Declaration for National Parks - calling for key changes including a visit to a National Park for every school and college student, and NHS services to connect young people to the benefits of visiting these places. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e9PEeJHN