September

The intention of Boris Johnson and other UN leaders to reverse biodiversity loss should be lauded, but designation alone is not the answer.

With lessons from Australia and California about the unintended consequences of preventing controlled winter fires to reduce fuel load, we may need to be far more proactive in preventative burning than we have been in the past, as the likelihood of summer wildfires is increasing.

Those accusing the government of dishonesty might reflect on their own actions first. The continued reliance on legal protection has failed some species, such as the declining hedgehog population because this ignores the fact that the badger population, which is killing and eating them, is rising.