Lend your voice

Someone once said, “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” *

The quote rings true. We depend on nature every single day but right now our wildlife and wild places are in real trouble. The truth is that if we’re going to save nature, we’re going to need people from all walks of life to play a part.

The nature crisis we’re in affects everyone, so everyone should have an opportunity to be involved in trying to fix it. Yes, we need those in government to take the lead and sign up to global targets. We need policy makers to transform pledges into international, national and local nature saving plans. We need economists to calculate the financial costs, scientists to test and prove better ways of working and engineers to build more efficient ways for us to travel and live. We need entrepreneurs to create nature friendly businesses and conservationists to restore wild habitats which can store carbon and make new homes for our wildlife... The list is endless.

But for all of this to happen, we need passionate people from all walks of life to speak up and show there is a real desire for change. We can do this through the lifestyle choices we make, such as the food we choose to eat, the way we travel and the products we buy.

But just as importantly you can do it by standing shoulder to shoulder with other passionate people to share ideas, spark debate and instigate nature saving action, whether you’re campaigning for your local wildlife haven or fighting for global climate targets.

The People’s Plan for Nature is the UK’s biggest ever conversation about the future of nature. The RSPB are working with WWF and the National Trust to make our nature something we can all be proud of.

The first stage has seen tens of thousands of people share their ideas. These will form a crucial part of the next phase, where 100 people from all walks of life across the UK will come together in the UK’s first ever Citizens’ Assembly on nature, the People’s Assembly for Nature, to discuss the contributions and hear from experts. Together, they will have honest conversations, find common ground and make recommendations for the protection and restoration of nature in the UK.

In March 2023, the People’s Plan for Nature will be published, and it will be too big for anyone to ignore. It will set out how the government, businesses, NGOs and communities can take action to tackle the nature crisis.

Right now, we’re witnessing a decline in wildlife never seen before in human history. Since 1970, there has been on average almost a 70% decline in the populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. What’s more the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world – in the bottom 10% and bottom of the pile when it comes to the G7 group of nations.

This biodiversity loss is happening for many reasons, such as habitat being destroyed for food production and overfishing. But it’s also happening because of changes in our climate caused by burning fossil fuels. Both issues are heavily intertwined, and we can't solve one of them without addressing the other.

The good news is it’s not too late. Science shows us that we can stop global temperatures from rising more than 1.5C - the level scientists agree will avoid the worst impact of climate change. We can also give nature a real fighting chance by changing the way we produce food, treat our oceans and making more space for wildlife to live. But the science also says we must act now, all of us.

We’ve seen passionate people joining together for nature before, with some great successes. Now we need to do it again.

There’s still time for you to visit the People’s Plan for Nature website to like or comment on your favourite contributions.

Take Part