Durham Wildlife Trust is calling upon all politicians and candidates standing for future elections to commit to a plan to finally halt and reverse this trend. Future policies must be targeted towards species recovery, tackling climate change, funding wildlife-friendly farming, and tackling the other environmental issues we are all facing.

It has never been more evident that people care more about the state of their natural environment than ever before. With a general election on the horizon, it is time politicians heard that message.

Decade after decade, we have continued to see declines in our wildlife – with 1 in 6 species in the UK now under threat from extinction. Numbers of iconic species, such as the hedgehog and water vole, have plummeted. This dramatic loss of nature has serious implications for our society.

Abundant, diverse wildlife and a thriving natural environment can provide answers to many of the challenges society is facing today. Without a healthy environment we jeopardise the security of our food production and potential for economic growth, as shown in the Treasury’s recent Dasgupta Review. Why would we put our future at risk?

And yet, we continue to see political manifestos and plans that side-line nature. Laws in place to protect nature are not burdens to be put aside. Do we want more sewage in our rivers, more plastics in our oceans and less wildlife across the landscape?

With a general election on the horizon, now is the time to make our voices heard. Durham Wildlife Trust will be writing to all standing MPs in our region, setting out our concerns and inviting them to meet with us at a nature reserve in their constituency. We hope that will make a difference, but experience across the Wildlife Trust movement is that local opinions matter and that candidates, irrespective of party, are more interested in hearing from you, their voters, when they are out campaigning.

Candidates knocking at your door to seek your vote will be more inclined to listen to the views of constituents. That is the moment to make your views known and put nature on the political map.

• You can tell them why nature matters to you - share your experiences and your concerns for your local environment.
• You can ask them to pledge to meet with Durham Wildlife Trust once elected – imagine the impact if all our members encouraged their local candidates to find out why nature matters.
• You can ask if they will commit to defending nature - our natural environment matters, and irrespective of political party preference, we know that people care. Does your candidate? Ask them to commit to defending nature and let’s hold them to account if they don’t.

Robust environmental protection and legislation from Westminster is needed to halt and reverse the decline in nature across our region. Click here to read our Nature Matters evidence base, including links to the State of Nature report, the Natural Health Service report and more.