The UN Convention on Biological Diversity, COP15, starts in Canada today (7 December). What happens there will affect wildlife across the UK, including Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

The conference comes at a time when a recent study by the World Wildlife Fund suggests worldwide populations of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish have plummeted by almost 70 per cent in the past 50 years. The state of nature in Berks, Bucks and Oxon is also concerning and some recent Government actions threaten to make a bad situation worse. This will mean red faces on the world stage at COP15 and diminish the UK’s power to negotiate.

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world in terms of biodiversity – and in this area wildlife has suffered over recent decades from intensive farming, river pollution, development and extreme weather linked to climate change. Unfortunately, the Government’s Retained EU Law Bill threatens to remove wildlife protections and the targets they propose to set for nature’s recovery are not ambitious enough.

Estelle Bailey, Chief Executive of BBOWT, said:

“Bold action is needed to tackle the nature and climate crises at COP15. The next eight years need be ones of dramatic improvement for nature in order to fulfil the proposal to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 – something that the UK has already promised to do.

“In our area we are working hard to restore nature – to help wildlife recover and to help us mitigate and adapt to a changing climate. But recent Government decisions – as well as lack of action in other areas – undermine nature’s ability to recover. We need to see the Government set out far more ambitious targets for nature if it’s to keep its commitment to pass the environment on in a better state to the next generation.

“Shockingly, the Government’s current plans could mean even less wildlife in 20 years’ time than we have now. We’re asking our MPs to ensure a truly ‘world leading’ target that aims to leave the next generation with more nature – not less.”

The Wildlife Trusts want to see the UK Government take the following action:

· Set ambitious targets to restore the abundance of nature at home.

The Government is due to publish their Environment Act targets – but current proposals will mean even less wildlife in 20 years’ time than there is now. We want to see a target to increase species abundance by at least 20% by 2042, compared to 2022 levels.

· Help set ambitious global targets to halt and reverse catastrophic declines in habitat and wildlife by 2030 at COP15.

· Scrap the Retained EU Law Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament, because it threatens the laws which protect wild places and species across the UK from the Scottish highlands to the Isles of Scilly.