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The RSPB view
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The RSPB view

View across the pool and reedbed at the RSPB Lakenheath Fen nature reserve

When money gets tight something has to give and savings must be made. In a credit crunch, will decision-makers see the environment as a luxury or a necessity?

Few would deny that a rich natural environment improves our quality of life. Increasingly this view is backed up by research showing that access to nature aids mental and physical health.

It really seems to be the case that people who have access to nature will need less access to the National Health Service. Millions of people, through their support of wildlife conservation organisations, already show they believe that being in touch with a rich natural world is an important part of their lives.

The RSPB may well be affected financially by the credit crunch; we depend on the support of our members and the public for most of our income, and times are now harder for all. But in past economic slow-downs we have been relieved that our supporters have continued to support the natural world as a high priority. And we believe that our nature conservation work is a sound investment in the future, so we plan to continue to invest in putting nature back into the countryside.

Our new wetland nature reserve at Lydden in East Kent is a good example. Thanks to your generosity, we will recreate a wildlife hot spot, whose coastal location means that it is ideally placed to provide a soft landing for species moving north into the UK because of climate change. Lydden will be an asset to wildlife and an asset to the local community—undoubtedly a great investment for the future.

An investment now will deliver a better future for wildlife and people. Surely we cannot treat the environment as a luxury?

Previous similar investments in wetland recreation are delivering the goods. At Lakenheath this spring two pairs of cranes nested (unfortunately unsuccessfully), bitterns boomed, bearded tits ‘pinged’ and marsh harriers cruised over a reedbed full of dragonflies, water voles and the occasional otter.

Lakenheath is now a wonderful place to walk and enjoy nature and yet only 13 years ago it was a carrot field. Carrot fields are important, but no carrot field delivers either the wildlife or the visitor experience of Lakenheath, and no carrot field soothes the soul and sends you back refreshed to the hurly burly of life in the way that Lakenheath does.

In Somerset, another long-term investment is paying off big time. Within sight of Glastonbury Tor, a wetland with reedbeds and open water, our Ham Wall nature reserve, has been growing out of the old peat workings. This year, nearby, cattle egrets bred in the UK for the first time for hundreds of years and at Ham Wall itself two pairs of bitterns bred.

This is a wonderful wetland, even without bitterns, but we have been rather nervously wondering when bitterns would find their way there—would they ever get there?

Bitterns have had a fantastic year with 75 booming males and more nests than in any year for many decades. Coupled with a wet winter—bitterns love wet reedbeds—long-term habitat management and habitat creation has enabled the bittern population to recover spectacularly. Another long term investment is paying off.

The RSPB has great plans for future investment in habitat recreation. Many of our nature reserves need to be extended to deliver their full potential and we would like to continue to add new reserves which will put wildlife back into more people’s lives. There is a limit to what we can do on our own, however and we call upon government to invest in the natural world—whatever the economic outlook.

Our work shows that such investment reaps rewards not just in terms of more nature but also in terms of enjoyment and happiness for people, and it often brings conventional economic benefits for local communities.

But the investment is long term and the benefits may be felt beyond the tenure of current politicians. Nature will respond if we give it a helping hand—and an investment now will deliver a better future for wildlife and people. Surely we cannot treat the environment as a luxury?

Graham Wynne, chief executive of the RSPB

Nature reserves

The RSPB View

The RSPB's Chief Executive, Graham Wynne, writes this regular column in the quarterly membership magazine, BIRDS.

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