Calling all nature lovers! Biodiversity loss needs our urgent attention as much as climate breakdown does!
This was clearly outlined last week at the UK’s first-ever National Emergency Briefing by Professor Nathalie Seddon from the University of Oxford. See www.nebriefing.org
Nathalie was one of nine experts invited to deliver evidence on the climate and nature crises to an audience of over a thousand MPs, senior civil servants, industry bosses, and civic leaders. Nathalie highlighted nature’s essential role in building resilience and supporting the foundations of a safe, happy, and prosperous society; it should not remain on the fringes of policy.
I was in the audience; it was both sobering and motivating, as were all the talks.
What I most welcomed about Nathalie’s talk was how connected she is to the rest of nature – and her words rippled around the audience, evoking similar feelings in many, whom I spoke with afterwards. This was a presentation not just about facts, but about feelings. Not sentimental but deeply heartfelt.
OUR MP Manuela Perteghella did not go this, but I hear she sent someone in her place.
Please ask Manuella what she and her team will do to put nature even higher on their agenda. They may already be doing a lot – but it’s clear that they (and we) ALL need to step up our efforts to restore and protect biodiversity, to protect the web of life.
IMMEDIATE actions we can all take include:
We Can All Make a Difference
Creating a sense of personal and collective agency is important in climate and nature communications, whilst not diminishing the systemic nature of the crisis, and the critical role that policymakers and business leaders must play. However, people do want to know “So what can I / we do?”, so Linda pointed to some immediate actions everyone could take at local level to make a difference to restore and protect biodiversity.
🌱 Completely stopping the use of ANY weedkillers or pesticides, at home and in our town councils (if we lose insects we all lose out – no food for birds, amphibians or small mammals, no pollination services, no soil production). Our gardens can be a haven but we’re making them a hell. For example, research shows we have lost a staggering 63% of flying insects since 2022 *
💧 Stopping the use of BLEACH, FAIRY LIQUID and other harsh cleaning chemicals – some of which are “forever chemicals” – they go down our drains, and despite what people may think, they DO NOT get removed from the water system – they spill or are discharged into rivers, killing insect, plant and aquatic life there too. Look at the back of the bottle – if it has a red triangle with an exclamation mark or words that say it is toxic or harmful to animals – don’t use it! There are plenty of safer alternatives – and plenty of info online about what they are and where to find them. *
❗ Be aware that synthetic fleeces (jackets, blankets etc) will shed MILLIONS of microplastics in the water system every time you wash them. Killing rivers, polluting and often choking river life, getting into freshwater and ocean fish – which you and your family then eat! *
🪱 Only using Pet Flea, Worm and Tick treatment if absolutely essential (i.e. not as a routine treatment) and only use ones that your vet has approved as doing minimal harm to the environment – and to your health too. These treatments can get into the rivers where your dog swims, and into the water system when you wash pet bedding. Please do not buy these from supermarkets! *
– FACT: A single flea treatment of a medium-sized dog with imidacloprid contains enough pesticide to kill 60 million bees. YES, you read that right – 60 million bees! *
– FACT – Pet treatments containing fipronil and permethrin have been found to have links to cancer and suspected endocrine disruption which means they can interfere with your hormone system. *
We can all step up – caring for nature benefits us all. A few changes in our behaviours and most importantly how much we notice and attend to nature can make a massive difference, if enough of us do so.
Nathalie is Professor of Biodiversity and Founding Director of the Nature-based Solutions Initiative in the Department of Biology and Smith School for Enterprise and Environment at Oxford University, and Director of the Agile Initiative.
#biodiversity
#extinction
#NatureCrisis
#NatureEmergency
#resilience
#riskmanagement
#WeAreAllNature
