Ask our Government to defend nature

We have an opportunity to protect vital legislation and defend nature

In December, UK Environment Minister Rory Stewart will be going to Brussels to meet his counterparts from across Europe to talk about what needs to be done to halt and reverse the loss of our wildlife by 2020. We want him to know he’s got support from across the UK to help him to defend the Nature Directives – legislation vital to the protection of vulnerable habitats and species.

Over 520,000 people across Europe spoke up to save the Nature Directives over the summer of 2015. But there’s political pressure to weaken these laws and it’s the politics that will have the final say. If enough countries stand together in defence of our wildlife they’ll send a strong political signal against interfering with these vital laws.

Our glorious freshwater wildlife deserves the fullest protection.

How you can help

Please write to or email your MP and share the wildlife and places whose protection you’re standing up for. Urge them to show their support to Rory Stewart for the laws that defend our wildlife, before he goes to Brussels on 16 December. They will forward your email to Rory Stewart, who will reply to your MP personally – which they’ll pass on to you. This may seem like a long route but it means that your message will have the greatest impact, and the response you receive will come from the Minister himself.

Here are some points you might want to include in your message:

• Share your favourite and most memorable wildlife and places, near you or even elsewhere in Europe. Tell your MP and Rory Stewart what it is you’re defending.
• The Nature Directives are our best tool to meet our commitments to reverse our wildlife declines.
• UK led the way in the creation of the Nature Directives and Rory Stewart has said he wants to continue that tradition – please ask him to stand up for the Nature Directives so that our most precious habitats & species stay protected.
• The Government should oppose any changes to the Directives and commit instead to fully implementing them so they can work as intended and help turn around the state of nature by 2020.

Email your MP

You can find out your MP’s name and contact details here or by calling 020 7219 4272. All MPs can be reached by post at The House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.

Alternatively, you can use the easy-to-use webpage set up by the RSPB to send an email direct to your MP.

The RSPB would like to track how the campaign is doing. Could you help by sending copies of your message and any replies you receive to Stephanie Landymore, Parliamentary Campaigns Officer at DefendNature@rspb.org.uk?

Tell everyone

We need as many MPs from across the UK as possible to write to Rory Stewart so please help us to spread our call even further by sharing this campaign with your friends. The EU consultation on the nature laws in the summer received more responses than any other EU consultation. The largest response by far was from the UK. We can do that again!

Tweet Rory

Tweet Rory Stewart to tell him you are supporting him. Got a favourite picture of that site or species to share too? Even better. Fill in the box below with the wildlife or place you are defending, and click on Tweet to send it straight away.

You could also take a #defendnature selfie – in front of your favourite site or species protected by the Directives – and tweet it to @DefraGovUK.

Thank you for your support! Together we can show Rory Stewart that we’re behind him.

#defendnature