Our response to the State of the Environment speech

In response to Sir James Bevan's speech today at the launch of the Environment Agency's State of the Environment report, WWT's Director of Conservation, Dr James Robinson said:

Sir James is right to say investing in a healthy environment is about the smartest thing we can do, and we cannot have that healthy environment without healthy wetlands. We depend upon our wetlands for many of the essentials of life yet we have lost 90%, and many of those that remain are in a degraded or fragmented condition.

We know that being by such blue spaces is one of the best things for your wellbeing, with access to good quality urban blue space helping to support healthier, more sustainable behaviour, alongside many other benefits. In 2018 the Government set an aim for more people from all backgrounds to engage with and spend time in green and blue spaces in their everyday lives. They were right to do this and, 2½ years on, the Covid pandemic has shown just how much people need this.

Access to urban blue space remains unequal and public health overall is poor, yet wetlands can play a big role in helping to change this. From installing garden ponds and street planters to building neighbourhood rain gardens and community wetlands, there is so much we can do to provide people with easy access to benefit their wellbeing on a daily basis. As it decides where to invest public money for the UK’s recovery, we urge the Government to make this a blue recovery which invests in wetlands as essential blue infrastructure to protect public health, build a resilient economy and repair our environment.

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