What has Europe done for nature conservation in the UK?

Wildlife and natural processes do not recognise administrative boundaries.  It is therefore logical that countries need to co-ordinate in their efforts to conserve the environment on which everyone depends. 

In this respect the UK has worked through Europe in much of its environmental legislation.  Today European environmental legislation has become the core framework in most areas of environmental policy.  Pro or anti European arguments rarely seem to recognise the international nature of the environment and rarely come up with alternative strategies for delivering nature conservation in the absence of the European context.  Indeed, more worryingly, arguments seem to focus more on removing commitments to nature rather than proposing alternative ways of improving them.  This race to the bottom seems linked to a mistaken belief that it is something to do with removing blocks on so-called economic growth.  This is all the more incredible against the good work being done all over the world to show how fundamentally important investing in nature is to the economy (as well as to our very existence).

Joan Edwards, Director of Living Seas for the Wildlife Trusts, has written more on this theme in this blog on the Wildlife Trusts web site.