Don’t let lawless Britain become a threat to wildlife - WWT calls on supporters for help
A new Government initiative has put all of the 278 laws*
protecting wildlife and the environment at risk.
The recent launch of its controversial Red Tape Challenge (RTC) aims to ‘reduce the burden of regulation’ because it has ‘hurt business, doing real damage to our economy’.
People are invited, via the RTC website, to tell Government which legislation and regulations should be scrapped and which should be saved.
Ministers will then have just three months to work out what to keep and what to discard.
Included on the RTC website are the 278 regulations that aim to promote sustainable development and protect the environment.
While it is undoubtedly true that not all regulations are perfect, the Government has chosen to put all 278 environmental regulations up for grabs, including key legislation like the Wildlife & Countryside Act and the Climate Change Act.
These and other regulations protect the sites and species that we care about and enjoy on a daily basis, and the very resources upon which all of us, including businesses, ultimately depend.
The RTC clearly puts short-term business
interests first and undermines environmental protection.
While we welcome the recent statement on Defra’s website that ‘there are no plans to remove important environmental protections’ we remain very concerned by what might be considered to be ‘important’, and that all environmental regulations remain up for grabs on the RTC website.
Even if there are no plans to scrap major pieces of environmental legislation, we are worried that this exercise could be used to try to get rid of smaller but still extremely important and effective environmental regulations.
Disturbingly, the default position stated on the RTC website is that all regulations considered to be ‘burdensome’ to business will go unless ministers can make a very good case for them to stay.
We would very much like our members and supporters to help if you can give a few minutes.
Putting these critical environmental laws up for potential scrapping is short-sighted, and could have devastating consequences.
These regulations are not only designed to protect species, habitats and important wildlife sites, but also critical natural resources, like clean water.
You can help by telling the Government that wildlife matters.
1. Visit the Red Tape Challenge website and have your say on the proposals.
2. Feel free to use the bullet points below as a basis.
3. If you wish to make further points or copy us in, email prteam@wwt.org.uk
- This RTC challenge puts at risk 278 environmental regulations including those that relate to biodiversity, wildlife management, landscapes, the countryside and recreation. Regulation is a critical tool for helping protect the sites and species that we cherish and have a responsibility to protect and the habitats and natural resources upon which we all, including businesses, depend.
- Environmental regulations are not ‘red tape’. They are needed to counter very real threats and are essential for the long term maintenance of the nation’s wildlife, habitats, natural resources and landscapes.
- A Government that aims to be ‘the greenest Government ever’ should put sustainability and the environment at the heart of its activities. The Red Tape Challenge clearly puts short-term business interests first and undermines environmental protection.
- We call upon the Government to live up to its stated environmental ambitions and remove environmental regulations from the Red Tape Challenge.
We need you to have your say.
Thank you for your support.
Martin Spray
Chief Executive WWT
More information on the Red Tape Challenge can be found by visiting the official Red Tape Challenge website.
*The 278 regulations that are stated relates to the entire number of regulations that fall within the environment category of the Red Tape Challenge, that aim to promote sustainable development and protection of the environment. The 158 regulations relate to the number of regulations that fall within the biodiversity, wildlife management, landscape, countryside and recreation category. Which is a sub-category of the environment category
