Making Biodiversity Relevant to People
Trust Assistant Director (Conservation) Caroline Steel looks at the importance of making biodiversity relevant to people.
A personal view
Wildlife is extremely important to me. I felt at home as soon as we moved to rural Gloucestershire when I was six years old and my favourite spot as a child, Swifts' Hill, is now a SSSI and a Trust nature reserve. I was allowed the freedom to roam the countryside and it gave me tremendous pleasure. It still does, and remains as important to me now.
My brother was born in the Cotswolds and would not now live outside an urban environment. He has little empathy with the natural world, and certainly does not think that wildlife is important to him. He serves as a reminder that not everyone shares the enthusiasm of those of us who care passionately about wildlife.
The importance of wildlife to the people of Lincolnshire
Yet wildlife is important to us all, even though many in this country fail to make the connection between the natural environment and their food; their tax, insurance and water bills; or their health and mental wellbeing.
There are now more than 23,000 members of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, a significant increase in recent years, which could be taken as meaning that more people consider that wildlife is important. But do enough people think this way and, if they do, do they take action?
Through the free magazine County News Monthly, Lincolnshire County Council, has been conducting surveys to determine what residents would like the Council to do to improve their quality of life. There is no separate category for the "natural environment", which is included under the objective Maintain and enhance the heritage of Lincolnshire.
In the November issue, the magazine reported on the objectives considered most important by 1362 respondents. The objective Maintain and enhance the heritage of Lincolnshire was considered to be very/fairly important by approximately 51% of respondents: less than for any other objective. Create safe and more secure communities was considered by approximately 87% of respondents to be very/fairly important.
While it comes as no surprise to find that so many people rate security highly, it is disappointing that maintenance of our heritage appears to be considered the least important of the Council's objectives. Is this a true reflection of the views of the people of Lincolnshire, or is it because our natural environment is taken for granted? The results of this survey will be taken into account when the County Council looks at priorities for the future and decides on budget allocations.
The importance of people to wildlife
It is unlikely that the decline in biodiversity will be reversed unless a significant proportion of people within different sectors of society makes the connection between their wellbeing and wildlife. The biggest challenge facing all who act as ambassadors for wildlife is to make biodiversity relevant to people.
Everyone makes decisions which affect wildlife. The consequences of the decisions made by most individuals acting alone may be small, but the cumulative effect can be very great. If more people who consider wildlife to be important had responded to the questionnaire in County News Monthly, the elected representatives and officers of Lincolnshire County Council might now be reallocating their budget. If more people told their MPs that wildlife is important, then politicians and the Treasury would consider wildlife conservation to be a pressing political issue. Many consider sport to be more important to people than wildlife: if the UK wins the bid to host the Olympics, conservation bodies will see little lottery funding for many years.
The influence of individual children may not be great, but if they have pleasurable contact with wildlife, if their interest can be stimulated, they will carry this with them throughout their life. Later, when their decisions may carry more weight, there will be an understanding, and at least a latent sympathy, of the importance of wildlife.
Convincing people that wildlife is important to them, and that they should take action to protect it for the future, is arguably the most important role for the members, officers and staff of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.
Caroline Steel
Assistant Director (Conservation)
This article first appeared in Lapwings - the magazine for members of the Trust.
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