Thoughts from influential nature conservationists…
Mick Green
Who are you and what have you done in nature conservation?
I am based in mid Wales and am an Ecologist and Environmental Scientist by training. I’ve been in conservation all my life and have managed to undertake a wide variety of jobs and projects under that general banner. I started on reserves but quickly moved into survey and research, mainly in the uplands. which is probably where I am happiest. By accident I became involved in marine conservation, moving more into policy work, and led a Wildlife Link group on offshore oil and gas and then renewable energy issues for a number of years.
I have also worked in Consultancy running Ecology Matters Ltd as a non profit which put profits into conservation research. This has included work on the winter quarters of Ring Ouzel in Morrocco and waders and breeding Golden Eagles in Oman as well as work in upland Wales. I’ve also been involved in re-wilding, land use policy in Wales. I am currently running a marine mammal project on Ynys Enlli in North Wales.
How do you define nature conservation?
I find it frustrating that conservation seems stuck in a Dictionary definition of “an act or an instance of conserving or keeping from change”. Our protected sites are based on keeping them as they were when designated and we are stuck with lists of ‘priority’ species and habitats. We need to accept that Nature is in constant change and with continued loss and fragmentation of habitats, along with other pressures such as climate change, we need to give it the room to move and survive. I would prefer to see conservation defined as leaving Nature in a better state than we found it in. Conservation should have ambition!
What’s the good news about wildlife and nature at present?
Very few and far between I’m afraid. The emergence of ‘re-wilding’ (though I don’t really like the term) is seeing the development of some large-scale projects, and along with some species re-introduction schemes, gives us hope and hopefully a move away from static conservation. The annual meeting of the Welsh Ornithological Society last year gave me hope – us old fogies were vastly outnumbered by the keen and younger brigades.
Beyond the obvious of habitat loss and species decline, what’s your greatest concern in UK nature conservation at present?
As I write the Chancellor has declared war on bats and newts! We have constantly failed to get Nature into main-stream political thinking, and it seems always to be a case of one step forward, two steps back. Despite the large membership of conservation organisations in Britain we have failed to mobilise this, and the main NGOs are just not bold enough. Where was the reaction to the Chancellors comments? Why don’t the NGOs use their members to influence politicians? We need to persuade politicians that the electorate care about nature, and that it means votes, but we continually fail to do this. Come the revolution…!
If you had a limited budget on nature conservation in Britain, what would you prioritise and why?
I’d spend it on legal actions. Our conservation laws are generally quite good. The problem is they are not implemented, and the government agencies have been so pared back they are unable to do their jobs. Wild Justice has had some success on a very limited budget. For example, their challenges have led to a tightening up of ‘General Licences’ to kill birds, limiting the number of species that can be killed without specific reason, and stricter rules on the releases of gamebirds (though this needs to go further). A concerted effort may just make some progress and make sure the laws are implemented. Given recent comments from the Government, this will be needed.
How do you feel about your input to the subject – what if anything has it achieved and would you do it differently if starting again today?
It is always difficult to know what has been achieved in the great scheme of things. Our work on offshore developments has certainly improved the Environmental Assessments (which were completely missing when we started) but probably hasn’t stopped many developments at the end of the day. I’ve been lucky to work with some great people over the years whose expertise and enthusiasm keeps you going in what can be a thankless world.
Anything else you’d like to say?
I think it is important to keep things fresh – we need to keep re-evaluating our work and not be stuck in lists of sites and species. Groups like Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion have a vital place in demanding the impossible, just as ECOS has a much needed role in providing a space for debate.