Chris Packham: Vital that nature emergency is widely understood
TV personality and naturalist Chris Packham has backed calls from the Scottish Greens for the Scottish Parliament to declare a nature emergency, saying that recognising it, “would be a bold first step toward rectifying it.”
The Scottish Greens will put such a declaration to a vote at Holyrood on Wednesday which, if passed, would make Scotland the first country to officially recognise that rapid decline of species and wildlife populations across the world constitutes an emergency. In Scotland one in nine species currently face extinction.
Chris Packham said:
“It’s important that the Scottish Government is being asked to be at the vanguard of a world making its last stand for wildlife.
“It is beneficial that the climate crisis has risen in the public consciousness, but we need the loss of our biodiversity to be as broadly understood and addressed too.
“There is no doubt that we have precipitated a nature emergency so admitting as much would be a bold first step towards rectifying it.
“Scotland not only has a plethora of flora and fauna which is unique and exotic, but it also inhabits one of the most beautiful parts of the UK. As a consequence of this, in a world which has woken up to the health value of being in nature, in the post covid period it has the potential to be a significant economic asset too.
Scottish Greens Environment Spokesperson Mark Ruskell MSP added:
“I’m delighted to have Chris Packham’s backing on this most important issue. Chris is well-known for championing nature and I’m sure his involvement will drive home to MSPs just how alarming the decline of Scotland’s nature is, and how important it is that we take meaningful action to reverse it.”