A shocking new report says that one in six species of plant and animal in the UK are at risk of extinction
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A shocking new report says that one in six species of plant and animal in the UK are at risk of extinction. The State of Nature report, which was complied with the help of experts from more than sixty research and conservation organisations in the UK, paints a depressing picture of biodiversity loss in the UK today.
Key take outs of the report state that since 1970 the abundance of 753 terrestrial and freshwater species has fallen by an average of 19 per cent. And, of the 10,000 species of plant and animal assessed in the report, 16 per cent (1,500 or one in six) are threatened with extinction.
Of the vertebrate’s birds are the worst impacted with an incredible 43 per cent of UK species at risk of extinction. Amphibians and reptiles are the next hardest hit group with 31 per cent of UK species at risk of extinction. Fungi and lichens are third in line with 28 per cent at risk, followed by terrestrial mammals at 26 per cent. These declines involve some of the UK’s best-loved creatures, such as red squirrels.
While the report makes for grim reading, you might be trying to comfort yourself with thoughts that the situation is similar in neighbouring countries, but you’d be wrong.
In a 2019 report, the UK was already considered one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries, being ranked only 189 out of 240 countries for maintaining its biodiversity. Breaking the statistics down to examine the status of each of the four UK nations, Scotland fared best, sitting 28th from the bottom of the list, Wales was 16th from the bottom, Northern Ireland 12th place and England sat a mere seven places from the bottom of the list.
And since then, the situation has not improved, with the UK continuing to lose its natural heritage at a steady rate.
The reasons for these losses are, according to the authors of the State of the Nature report, severalfold. A changing climate is having an impact but other reasons are also at play. Intensive land management leading to habitat destruction is a major contributor to biodiversity loss. Modern farming practices in the UK have seen ancient hedgerows removed, ponds and waterways disappear, pesticide use increase, as well as general changes in crop uses and production.
Pollution and invasive species are hitting our biodiversity hard and, heading out on an ocean wave, unsustainable fishing practices are emptying our coastal waters. Quite incredibly, only 44 per cent of UK woodlands are certified as sustainably managed, and only a fifth of the UK’s farmlands are covered under an agri-environment scheme.
There are some small glimmers of hope, though for the UK’s biodiversity. The report highlights some examples of where conservation programmes and better land management has resulted in some creatures staging a recovery. The natterjack toad, the bittern and the Duke of Burgundy butterfly, all of which are at risk in the UK, are species that have benefited from targeted conservation projects that are either stabilising losses or even helping the populations to grow in certain areas.
