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Irish hare (c) Ronald Surgenor

Irish hare (c) Ronald Surgenor

#DefendNature: we need each other

No Nature. No Future.

Nature needs defending  - you can help

Since 2022, we have been working to influence the Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill, which threatened to give Ministers sweeping powers to remove or replace thousands of environmental laws, without public consultation or scrutiny by Parliament. 

These crucial environmental protections like the Habitats Regulations, Wild Birds Regulations and Bathing Waters Regulations were transposed into UK law when we left the EU. These laws protect our most valuable habitats and endangered wildlife and people’s health and well-being.

We fear if these protections are lost, it would lead to even more pollution poisoning our rivers, more of our wild places at risk of being damaged – and potentially destroyed – and even more wildlife threatened with extinction.

We are in the midst of a nature and climate emergency, so we must do all that we can to protect our wildlife, our climate, and our future.

We all need to act together NOW to #DefendNature. Contact your MP below.

How you can help: step-by-step

No nature, no food. No nature, no growth. No nature, no security. No nature, no future
STEP 1:

Send your MP a postcard

Ask your MP to #DefendNature by sending a postcard that will land on the doormat of their office. 

Choose your postcard now

 

 

A person writing a letter
STEP 2

Write to your MP

  1. Download our template letter here
  2. Edit or add to the text to reflect your own concerns as this will have more impact
  3. Find your MP here
  4. Send your letter by post or email to your MP
  5. Please consider copying this letter to Local Party Leaders - details here 
Further guidance here

What is Ulster Wildlife doing?

Together with fellow environmental and other local charities, we sent a joint letter to NI Ministers and key politicians in September 2022 to speak out against the serious threat to our environment and public health as a result of the Retained EU Law Bill, published by Westminister. You can read our letter here outlining our key concerns.

We have also joined forces with a coalition of organisations across the UK, led by RSPB England, to send an urgent open letter to Jacob Rees Mogg calling for the Retained EU Law Bill to be withdrawn. Read our letter to Jacob Rees Mogg.

Northern Ireland is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with 11% of species at risk of extinction. We are, therefore, alarmed at the UK Government’s attack on nature that puts at risk vital laws to protect the environment.

We will be following this situation very closely and have requested to meet with Ministers to explore in greater detail the implications of the Bill.

Campaign update: 27th June 2023

Despite the best efforts of the Lords and some robust debate, the Westminster Government rejected the two amendments on the interlinked issues of strengthening parliamentary scrutiny and preventing the regression of environmental protection.

This was the fourth round of ping-pong – the transit of the Bill between the House of Commons and the House of Lords – and the debate had become somewhat political, with concerns that the Government was not following the usual process of making concessions. But neither Lord Anderson nor Lord Krebs pushed their amendment to a vote. The Bill will therefore now receive royal assent without those additional environmental safeguards.

However, the Lords were given some extra verbal assurances. These include:

  • the Environment Act setting the context for the REUL powers
  • recognition that the process should have due regard to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement
  • a commitment to public consultation on all REUL.

We have worked with the Greener UK coalition to galvanise public pressure to influence the outcomes for the REUL Bill, and can count the deletion of the sunset clause as a significant win.

Despite this, our concerns remain that the refusal to offer proper parliamentary scrutiny will make it easier for future governments to weaken environmental protection, water quality standards and other EU-derived protections. But we hold onto the fact that Ministers are now on the record at every turn with promises not to weaken environmental protections, and will challenge them to keep to these promises.

Campaign update: 25th May 2023

A crucial vote took place on Wednesday 24th May that could have serious ramifications for nature. Thousands of Wildlife Trust supporters acted fast to convince MPs to vote for amendments to the Bill in order to ensure Parliament isn't left out of key decisions in future and that the laws that protect nature are not weakened.

Disappointingly, despite almost 10,000 of you contacting MPs, the UK Government and Conservative MPs voted down this amendment. The Bill will now be voted on in the House of Lords on 6th June, where we hope an amendment will be reinserted to ensure our environmental protections are not watered down.

Campaign update: 15th May 2023

The UK Government had been forging forward with a ‘sunset clause’ on the Retained EU Law Bill that would bulldoze hundreds of important laws that protect nature and people at the end of the year (2023).

On the 15th May 2023, UK Government announced that it had scrapped the ‘sunset clause’, which means many vital environmental laws will remain in place in 2024. Your passionate postcards, emails and tweets to MPs raised the alarm.  Thank you for your support. However, the fight is not yet over.