This article first appeared in the April 2026 edition of Birdwatching Magazine
The Office for Environmental Protection watchdog has said that the UK government will not meet its targets to save wildlife in England and Northern Ireland and is failing on almost all environmental measures. Despite having encapsulated in law the ten targets it set itself to reach by 2030, seven are almost certain to fall short. The only ones still ‘partly’ on track are clean air, improving the beauty of nature, and reducing the harmful impact of environmental hazards. I’ve no idea why anyone thought nature needed improving; it cannot be improved upon, but it does need to be given more space and a great deal more protection!
One target will certainly not be met; biodiversity. To do that the decline in many species would need to be stopped and turned around in the next four years, which is, frankly, impossible. If we made a start, then we could make a difference in the long term. Instead of making a start, this government is still bringing forward legislation that will have disastrous effects. You cannot, on the one hand, advocate increased biodiversity and halting the loss of what little in nature is left, particularly in England, and at the same time bring in legislation that encapsulates the idiocy of those who say that we should not halt building for the sake of newts, and bats. Nor can you hold your environmental head high whilst refusing to make all builders spend an extra thirty quid per house to install a swift brick!
Just how thick do you have to be, to say that snails and spiders don’t matter at all. Tell that to Song Thrushes and Dartford Warblers. Some of our ‘leading’ politicians, seem to be stuck firmly in the nineteenth century, where ‘valuable’ animals (that could be eaten or cuddled) were looked after, and everything else was either ‘game’ or ‘vermin’!
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that politicians can hold completely conflicting notions at the same time. On the one hand they set biodiversity targets to protect nature and on the other bring in planning and infrastructure legislation that will allow developers to build on protected nature sites.
Where I live is a microcosm of this madness. Over the last 10 years, increasing amounts of farmland around the fringes of the town have been set aside and built upon. Hundreds and hundreds of houses erected in an area where employment and fresh water are already scarce commodities. No new infrastructure like schools or surgeries have been added. The main routes in and out of town are narrow so gridlock is a daily phenomenon. Lately, water has been brought in by tankers to fill our tiny reservoirs.
Yesterday I read a report from a local birder about his patch. An area of marshland farmed by a wildlife friendly family. The birder reported flocks of thousands of finches, hundreds of thrushes, larks and pipits, and even flying flocks of snipe. Guess where? Exactly where there is a proposed ‘infrastructure’ development. A truly massive electricity converter station that will destroy an SSSI. No case has ever been made public for its need, and NO OTHER SITE has even been considered
How can our government square these circles?
They need to stop thinking that nature blocks economic growth. The British public rediscovered the outdoors during the pandemic. Far more are environmentally concerned than government thinks. Creating more and better green spaces can make more economic sense than setting up a factory or free port! It takes spending to rural commerce, creates labour intensive work and reduces health costs. That is what should be meant by infrastructural development!
