Wild Card is honoured support the Zero Hour campaign and to join the CEE Bill Alliance!
Wild Card is a grassroots group of ordinary people, campaigners and experts. As the climate and extinction crisis worsens, we’re setting our long-term vision on 50% of the UK being rewilded.
That’s a big goal, but the UK’s wildlife is in big trouble. The state of our nature is a source of national shame – the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, ranked 189th out of 218 countries. Since the 1970’s 41% of British species have declined, half of our mammals and a quarter of our birds are threatened with extinction. The situation is dire and whilst we must all do our bit to help heal the earth, it is our belief that those with more should do more. In the United Kingdom half the land is owned by less than 1% of the population so naturally, Wild Card believes that the responsibility of initiating large-scale rewilding lies firmly with Britain’s biggest landowners. Our dwindling species need large-scale, urgent, decisive action. As such our campaigns are focused on the country’s most high profile landowners, urging them to start rewilding their land without delay.
Our current campaign goes straight to the top and challenges the Royal Family to begin actively rewilding their land, starting now. The Royals have long talked about tackling climate change, but now it’s time for action. These days the Royal word may be easy to dismiss by policy makers, but if decisive action were taken to turn 50% of their vast landholdings back to nature, a powerful precedent would be set for all UK landowners and the effects would be potentially history altering for life on this island. Wild Card’s Royal Campaign began earlier this year with a letter signed by 120 scientists, celebrities and public figures, and has been followed by a public petition approaching 100,000 signatures asking for Royal Rewilding. As this campaign continues to build we will also turn our attention to other institutional landowners – the Church of England and Oxbridge colleges. Watch this space!
In the UK current legislation and policy are not enough to address the alarming rate of habitat and species loss. The existing Environment Bill fails to acknowledge that the inclusion of ecological deterioration and biodiversity loss are an intrinsic part of tackling the climate emergency. Suggested amendments to the Environment Bill have been met with a response of empty targets and unaccountable aims with no urgency or real commitment.
The CEE bill is the only proposed legislative plan that addresses the interconnections between the climate, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. A combination of this legislation and rewilding will enable us to maximise the nature-based solutions that are so vital in climate and ecological breakdown.
Wild Card recognises that the state of nature in Britain is in crisis, we believe that our core aim of seeing 50% of the country rewilded is supported through the section of the bill which outlines the need to increase the health, abundance, diversity and resilience of species, populations, habitats and ecosystems so that by 2030 nature is visibly and measurably on the path of recovery.
To rewild the land and water is to allow untamed life to return to ecosystems and landscapes, such that they are once again sustained by the natural processes that created them in the first place. Wild Card’s objectives of large-scale rewilding sits in line with the CEE Bills strategy of including measures to protect, restore and enhance ecosystems in the United Kingdom.
We are thrilled to be working with the Zero Hour campaign and to join CEE Bill Alliance and fellow members, in order to see legislation that ensures a greater emphasis on nature and biodiversity as part of the wider climate and ecological crisis. Join us and support the Zero Hour campaign
Author: Emma Smart, co-founder of Wild Card
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