An initial response to the EU Referendum result
Friday 24th June
With the EU Referendum over, the challenges faced by the UK’s wildlife are as great as they have ever been, and collectively we have now given ourselves the challenge of ensuring that we have a healthy natural environment for future generations. Within Nottinghamshire, spaces for wildlife are under real pressure and as a minimum we need to work together to urge the government to ensure that the legislation that is in place to protect places like Sherwood Forest and Attenborough Nature Reserve is not eroded and that this extends to the smaller but equally valuable sites across our county. In recent times we have quite rightly seen a great deal of emphasis on what a healthy natural environment can do for us but now we must pick up the challenge and focus on what we can do for it.
Collectively across the country the Wildlife Trusts are working to create a Living Landscape and to secure Living Seas and this will continue “Our vision paints a positive and optimistic picture of what can be achieved in partnership, and it is more important than ever that we work together to make it a reality. The EU has left a legacy of strong legislation and invested in many practical projects. Together, these have reduced the rate of wildlife losses and begun to reverse the fortunes of some of our wildlife. But there is growing pressure for deregulation both in the UK and across the rest of Europe. In our new political world there is a very real risk that the pressure for deregulation and reduced environmental standards will grow. It is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that the benefits for wildlife that we have seen inside the EU are not lost through deregulation or a lack of international cooperation. Throughout the Referendum campaign, those who promoted leaving the EU said that funding will not be reduced for wildlife friendly farming and that wildlife protection will be strengthened in an independent country. It is now time for all those involved in the past few months’ debates to honour their commitments and to build a better future for our wildlife, wild places and for the people who enjoy and depend on them every day.”
Within Nottinghamshire over the coming weeks and months we will need to work collectively to demonstrate that voices standing up for wildlife are as strong as ever. We must ensure that we take the positive opportunities that independence will bring to take bigger and more positive steps towards protecting wildlife for the future.
For more information about the EU referendum and wildlife please see The Wildlife Trust EU web page.
