Having alerted our volunteers to the potential changes proposed to the Wildlife and Countryside Act, under the QQR7 review, we now wish to bring your attention to an even more serious threat posed by the UK government’s drive for deregulation that may involve scrapping the Habitats Regulations.
Many people will never have heard of these regulations, but for over 30 years they have played a vital role in protecting our most precious natural habitats by providing a framework within which development decisions can be made whilst considering their impact on nature, thereby protecting our natural environment for both nature and people and giving a level of confidence and surety to the industry that it is doing the right thing.
Without the legal backing and force of the Habitats Regulations, there is a serious risk of the long-term deterioration and loss of many of our wild spaces and the wildlife they support, leaving our future generations living in an impoverished world. Under the umbrella of the Wildlife and Countryside Link the UK’s wildlife and conservation NGOs are united in their opposition to these sweeping and potentially harmful changes. We are asking all of our members to #standupfornature – and are pleased to be able to share the RSPB's messaging on this important issue, with the suggestion that you contact your MP to ask that they too make a stand to protect our precious wildlife.
https://community.rspb.org.uk/getinvolved/naturesheroes/b/weblog/posts/act-now-to-protect-the-laws-that-protect-nature/?utm_campaign=habitat-reg22&utm_source=press-release&utm_medium=news
Messaging from our friends at the Bat Conservation Trust:
What can you do?
Just by reading this you are helping to spread awareness of our concerns. But you can do more. You can share the messaging form all of our wildlife NGOS to continue to raise awareness of this threat to our wildlife.
You can sign and share the Greenpeace petition here
And you can write to your MP. We live in a democratic society and it is important we can still exercise our right to communicate with our law makers through our elected representatives.
You can contact your MP, by either asking for a face-to-face meeting, phoning them, emailing, or writing to them. We have created a template letter/email which can be downloaded from document HERE (14 KB) . You can find the contact details for your local MP HERE (remember to include your address so they know you are a constituent).