With the future of our country up for debate, it's essential that we don't forget our environment - or those working hard to look after it.
However, you read the news - on paper, online, on social media - there has been little talk of anything but the forthcoming General Election in the past week. Politicians are clamouring to show their stance on Brexit, policing and the NHS, but we must ensure our wildlife does not get left behind.
In the past year, we have briefed MPs and members of the House of Lords on licensing, the importance of healthy soil, mitigating wildfire and how farming can support the drive to reduce carbon emissions. These briefings, through the All-Party Parliamentary Game & Wildlife Conservation Group, help to get the facts out there, but with the country set to go to the polls, you have a vital role.
If you are attending a hustings, are approached by campaigners on your doorstep or write to your candidates, be sure to ask what they are prepared to do to allow our wildlife to thrive. You are bound to have local concerns, but national questions we are keen to have answered are:
- How will they ensure farmers - who manage three-quarters of our countryside - are able to provide for the wildlife that depends on them?
- Will they ensure that evidence, rather than pressure groups, inform future decisions about our environment?
- What measures will they take to protect the few that still work on the land from the increasingly prejudice language and abuse now appearing in the media?
If you do get a response, please let us know. Email editor@gwct.org.uk or write to Editor, GWCT, Burgate Manor, Fordingbridge, SP6 1EF.
On paper, the decision of the electorate in December will shape our environment for the next five years, but history tells us it could have a much longer impact. When something causes our wildlife to decline, the recovery is never as quick and is often expensive, sometimes impossible. The same is true for our landscape - government grants in the 1970s encouraged the draining of our upland moors. Upland landowners are still working hard to reverse this in order to maintain precious habitat, yet still face criticism for draining.
Our promise
In addition to continuing to undertake important research, we will monitor the forthcoming manifestos and look to inform our members and the wider public when the science says something different.