European hare (credit: 2020 Vision)
Defend Nature
No Nature. No Future.
Wildlife needs your voice.
A healthy and safe natural world brings huge benefits to people, as well as to wildlife.
But wildlife and wild spaces across the UK are under huge pressure - in particular, from warm words from Ministers and MPs and from stated Government commitments that don't turn into action. When we act together, we can #DefendNature.
You defended nature from policy changes...
Thousands of passionate campaigners backed our work along with many others to try and shape the Retained EU Law (REUL) Act, which is now law. The Act now gives Ministers sweeping powers to remove or replace thousands of environmental laws, without public consultation or scrutiny by Parliament. We campaigned against this because we feared that the consequences could be more rivers poisoned, more wild places at risk of damage and even more species facing extinction.
Today those fears are being realised. Even after some very strong public reassurances that the natural world would be safe from harm once the Act was passed, we see the UK Government continue to break its promises and proposing changes that could cause serious problems - like, for example, amending rules which protect rivers in England from pollution.
We hold onto the fact that Ministers are now on the record at every turn with promises not to weaken environmental protections, and will challenge them to keep to these promises.Director of Policy & Public Affairs, The Wildlife Trusts
How you can help: step-by-step
Kingfisher (credit: Margaret Holland)
Tweet your MP
We've made it easy for you to highlight your views directly with your MP. Use this simple form to post a message on Twitter (X).
Swan postcard (credit: The Wildlife Trusts)
Send your MP a postcard
Ask your MP to #DefendNature by sending a postcard that will land on the doormat of their office.
Writing to MP / writing / letter writing (credit: The Wildlife Trusts)
Write to your MP
- Find your MP here
- Send your letter by post or email to your MP
Atlantic puffin adult in flight (credit: Chris Gomersall/2020VISION)
Send a 'letter to the Editor'
Using our simple form, you will be matched up with your nearest local newspaper Editor and can send your letter direct.
Campaign updates
Campaign update: 27th June 2023
Despite the best efforts of the Lords and some robust debate, the Westminster Government rejected the two amendments on the interlinked issues of strengthening parliamentary scrutiny and preventing the regression of environmental protection.
This was the fourth round of ping-pong – the transit of the Bill between the House of Commons and the House of Lords – and the debate had become somewhat political, with concerns that the Government was not following the usual process of making concessions. But neither Lord Anderson nor Lord Krebs pushed their amendment to a vote. The Bill will therefore now receive royal assent without those additional environmental safeguards.
However, the Lords were given some extra verbal assurances. These include:
- the Environment Act setting the context for the REUL powers
- recognition that the process should have due regard to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement
- a commitment to public consultation on all REUL.
We have worked with the Greener UK coalition to galvanise public pressure to influence the outcomes for the REUL Bill, and can count the deletion of the sunset clause as a significant win.
Despite this, our concerns remain that the refusal to offer proper parliamentary scrutiny will make it easier for future governments to weaken environmental protection, water quality standards and other EU-derived protections. But we hold onto the fact that Ministers are now on the record at every turn with promises not to weaken environmental protections, and will challenge them to keep to these promises.
Campaign update: 25th May 2023
A crucial vote is took place on Wednesday 24th May that could have serious ramifications for nature. Thousands of Wildlife Trust supporters acted fast to convince MPs to vote for amendments to the Bill in order to ensure Parliament isn't left out of key decisions in future and that the laws that protect nature are not weakened.
Disappointingly, despite almost 10,000 of you contacting MPs, the UK Government and Conservative MPs voted down this amendment. The Bill will now be voted on in the House of Lords on 6th June, where we hope an amendment will be reinserted to ensure our environmental protections are not watered down.
Campaign update: 15th May 2023
The UK Government had been forging forward with a ‘sunset clause’ on the Retained EU Law Bill that would bulldoze hundreds of important laws that protect nature and people at the end of the year (2023).
On the 15th May 2023, UK Government announced that it had scrapped the ‘sunset clause’, which means many vital environmental laws will remain in place in 2024. Your passionate postcards, emails and tweets to MPs raised the alarm. Thank you for your support. However, the fight is not yet over. Please read our response below for more information.
Read our reaction
Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, says:
“We won’t be congratulating UK Government for its decision to stop doing something it should never have even thought about in the first place. The UK Government’s Retained EU Law bill has been a shambles from the very beginning. Now it has ditched the ‘sunset clause’, which threatened to dismantle most Retained EU Law at the end of this year and posed an immediate threat to vital laws that protect nature and people. However, the huge problem posed by the bill still remains because it will allow future governments to revoke important laws at whim, whenever they want to.
“Ministers should never be given carte blanche to pick and choose which laws should be kept or binned without public consultation or scrutiny – that is fundamentally undemocratic. The uncertainty created by UK Government over Retained EU Law has caused huge problems for business, as well as organisations working to protect nature. Ministers must stop seeing environmental law as a burden because it helps stop more sewage entering our rives and ensures food is safe to eat. Given the urgent need to address the nature and climate crisis, they should be strengthening protections, not ripping them apart.”