Ecological emergency declaration
Ecological emergency declaration at Council on 19 October 2022
This Council notes:
- The National Biodiversity Network 2019 State of Nature report, concluded that 1,188 of the 8,431 species assessed in Great Britain are threatened with extinction. The July 2022 statement of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Sustainable Use Assessment provides compelling evidence that humans are overexploiting wild species and habitats and the government’s Chief Scientific Advisor made it clear that we need to change if we are to survive;
- Under the Environment Act of 2021 the Government aims to clean up the country’s air, restore natural habitats, increase biodiversity, reduce waste and make better use of our resources. The provisions of the act will “halt the decline in species by 2030 and require new developments to improve or create habitats for nature”;
- Warwickshire County Council Highways Department has developed a new policy which considers a sustainable County wide approach to verge maintenance and wildflower planting in order to increase biodiversity whilst still ensuring the over-riding importance of road safety is maintained;
- Warwick District Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has created an action plan to address the 3 stated ambitions: to become a net zero council, to reduce the carbon emissions of the district as a whole and to enable our environment and communities to adapt to the coming rise in global temperatures, including an ambitious tree planting programme;
- Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, which aims to bring wildlife back, and to help people act for nature, numerous charities and community groups, many gardeners, allotment holders and some local farmers are actively engaged in trying to improve biodiversity across the District.
This Council therefore resolves to declare an Ecological Emergency and develop a new Biodiversity Action Plan to complement the Climate Action Plan and position the Council as the leading organisation to enhance biodiversity in the District. Following discussions with the Climate Change Programme Advisory Board, a report setting out the process, resources and funding to develop a detailed Biodiversity Action Plan will be brought to Cabinet in February 2023. The Biodiversity Action Plan will deliver these aims:
- To improve biodiversity in the green spaces managed by WDC and its contractors, taking full account of public safety and amenity requirements, including events;
- To set out options for further reducing the amount of Glyphosate and other toxic chemicals that is used by WDC and its contractors, including at least one option to completely eliminate their use;
- To ensure that the provisions of the Environment Act 2021 for Biodiversity Net Gain are fully implemented in all developments in the District and that Biodiversity Net Gain is maximised in all developments that WDC has a financial interest in;
- To ensure that biodiversity runs through the new South Warwickshire Local Plan, for example, by creating green corridors;
- Linking in with the Warwickshire Local Biodiversity Action Plan and emerging Nature Recovery Strategy, to work in partnership with other agencies including the County Council, the Environment Agency, Severn Trent and other relevant bodies to improve the biodiversity of areas supported by the natural water systems in the District including the development of natural flood management and drought resistant water courses and bodies of water;
- To seek opportunities to invest the Carbon Offset Fund in projects that both sequester carbon and increase biodiversity;
- To develop a public awareness and education plan for biodiversity in collaboration with WWT, charities and community groups, focussing on what individuals and groups can do in their own local areas.