In the first in a series of webinars throughout 2021 focused on nature's recovery, we are joined by Professor Sir John Lawton (The Lawton Report: Making Space for Nature) to look at the ecological crisis and species decline.
The UN’s 2019 Global Assessment Report (IPBES Global Assessment) warned the world that nature is in freefall, with biodiversity declining faster than at any other point in human history. As a result, we are now facing what scientists are referring to as the world’s sixth mass die-off, with a million species facing extinction across the globe, many within decades.
The ecological crisis, and the resulting collapse of vital life-support systems that nature provides through clean air, clean water, pollination, food and natural resources, also therefore threatens the human race.
The 2019 State of Nature Report published similarly distressing news that here in the UK, the ecological crisis is accelerating. Since 1970, when Warwickshire Wildlife Trust was founded, 41% of species have seen their populations decline, with 15% of UK species at threat of extinction.
Despite valiant conservation efforts in Warwickshire to slow the decline and protect the most vulnerable species, wildlife has been pushed to the brink, with habitat destruction occurring at an alarming rate. Agricultural intensification, development for housing and industry and schemes like HS2 are driving a dramatic change in our local landscape.
It’s a dark picture, but there is hope. Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, together with our members, partners and supporters, can and must be a major player in reversing the ecological crisis, by making a difference at a local grassroots level. We know that nature is resilient, and we know that given the right conditions, (30% of land for nature by 2030) it can recover, and quickly.
Join us to learn more about the current state of nature, our ambitious plans for nature’s recovery, and how we can start to bring our wildlife back.
Featuring a presentation by Professor Sir John Lawton: "The State of Nature: turning the tide".