State of Nature - Is there a disconnect in nature conservation?

This week saw the start of another one of the BBC Natural History departments flagship programmes helmed by our national treasure, Sir David Attenborough. ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’ looks at the planet’s natural resources continent by continent with the BBCs usual blended of stunning cinematography, ecological measures and dramatic storytelling. These programmes are something we in this country do well and Sir David himself has done so much to spread the word of what is happening to our planet.

Common Darter

Here at home however things are not as rosy as they seem. Earlier this month the annual State of Nature Report was published. This yearly stocktake of our own natural capital paints a mixed picture and raises an interesting question, why are things still so bad in this country.

The report highlights some staggering results, species abundance has fallen by 13%, 41% of terrestrial and freshwater species show decreases. Of species classified as critically endangered 111 vertebrates, 440 fish, 232 fungi and lichens and 405 invertebrates are at risk of extinction. Our protected spaces do not all have favourable conditions, and many are not managed exclusively for nature. Whilst pollution has declined the effects of climate change are not being mitigated. Woodland cover is increasing but management is not keeping track. We have lost 1000 hectares of wetland between 2006 and 2012 although some there has been some great post-mineral extraction remediation. As for invasive species 10-12 non-native species are establishing in the UK each year of which 10-20% cause serious adverse impacts.

If we look at the Aichi Targets, the measures we have committed to on the international level and should meet by 2020 however the UK government has assessed that as a country we are only on track to meet 5 of the 20 targets.

These are gloomy statistics many of which most conservationists are more than aware of. Day to day those on the frontline see the changes in fortune for all our species, and there are a lot of conservationists out there. The UK has a strong tradition of voluntary support for nature conservation and the public invest large amounts in conservation charities. The RSPB has 18,000 volunteers and more than a million members, the National Trust has 5.6 million members and the Wildlife Trusts have a combined membership of over 800,000. There may be a degree of overlap between the organisation, but this is a substantial voting and lobbying block. The report shows that volunteering has increased by 46% since 2000 which is also reflected in the rise in entries to the National Biodiversity Network. Financially the public sector has seen a decline in spending in the UK but over the same period spending on international biodiversity has increased by 111%.

What does this all say? To me it says there is a fundamental disconnect in the way we view nature in this country. The BBC flagship programmes give us a vital understanding of the nature of the world and their spectacular sights force us to address the problems that we see. Perhaps we view those problems a little imperialistically, many of the countries with the richest biodiversity and most in need are the poorest and our donations ‘help’ them make the right decision, whereas we as a rich country have nothing to fear from our perhaps less eye catching wildlife. Its easier to sell a majestic lion or magnificent elephant than the elusive pine marten or humble hedgehog. I am not saying supporting world biodiversity is wrong nor that the BBC has the wrong focus, just that our ability to translate this into local action. Volunteering is increasing and membership is blossoming, but nature is still declining. We need to use this State of Nature report as a wake-up call, cull out the dry statistics and try and convert it into a call for action. Saving the rain forests is important but so are lowland wetlands in the UK. This is not an either-or situation, local and international need to work in tandem. The challenge for all conservationists is to convert this public culture of involvement and support into actual action, action at the ground level and at the governmental level. Balanced with this we need to extol the positives to avoid the negative becoming too overwhelming and promoting green fatigue.

The State of Natures is sombre reading and Seven Planets, One world is a marvel lets use both to inspire and motivate all to turn things around.

A Visitor to the Mill

Things have been remarkably quiet the last few weeks. We are somewhat in the doldrums of birding on the site, the summer visitors have left and any of the possible winter visitors have yet to arrive. Mild weather however has kept the insect populations alive and well. Even today I still recorded a Red Admiral and there are multiple species of dragonfly present.

I have been having some difficulty with these larger dragonfly, this late in the year I usually see the odd Brown Hawker and the abundant Common Darter but over the last few weeks I have been seeing a number of greenish blue dragonfly. At first I assumed these were Emperors however their flight behaviour and size didn't seem to fit. I tried getting closer views but none seemed to help.

If they weren't Emperors which I only see in small numbers in high summer then that left perhaps Common Hawkers or Southern Hawkers. Then today I came across a pair of dragonfly locked together in mating in perfect sight. I took several photos and even a short video clip.

The images were perfect for identification showing clearly the eyes, thorax and key colours on the abdominal segments.

Female

 A careful exploration of my guidebooks revealed that these dragonflies were Migrant Hawkers. It is known as a species of late summer and autumn and only became a British species since the 1940's and is continuing to expand north and westwards. In the south-east populations are still buoyed by migrants from the continent.

Its hawking pattern following a pattern is similar to that of the Emperor but it periodically breaks off and will hunt higher and deviate more from its path, fitting the behaviour I had noted. This is the first time I have managed to confirm a new dragonfly species on the site and I will have to review my notes from last year to see if some mis-identifications may have crept in.