Donovan Wright
Wildlife recovery is prioritised
Shockingly, 1 in 6 species in the UK is now at risk of extinction. In Kent, 1 in 10 species is threatened. Immense pressure from decades of pollution and habitat loss compounded by climate change has driven wildlife into catastrophic decline.
Kent Wildlife Trust's ambitious programme for species recovery in Kent includes the return of missing species and the focus on keystone and flagship species as a way to drive habitat protection and restore functioning ecosystems at a landscape scale to reverse these declines.
Learn more about our Wilder Blean project
Bringing back Kent's lost wildlife requires robust changes in species licensing and regulation to allow translocation of native species such as pine marten, beaver, and red-billed chough to become re-established in our landscapes. It also requires a recognition of the importance of returning missing species to restore ecosystem functionality within Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
What we want to see is not words, but rhetoric; not empty promises but a government that acts. Positive, long term action to help our biodiversity recover.Wildlife TV Presenter and Vice President, The Wildlife Trusts
To bring back our lost wildlife and put it on a path to recovery, we’re calling on all political parties to...
Water vole © Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Make more space for nature
The next UK Government should uphold their commitment made at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference to protect and restore at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 and launch an Olympic-style cross-government delivery strategy.
© Jon Hawkins Surrey Hills Photography
Protect our most important wildlife sites
Only 37% of the UK’s Sites of Special Scientific Interest – our most precious sites for nature - are in favourable condition. We urgently need policy interventions, legally-binding targets, support for landowners, and increased funding to prioritise action and investment in our SSSI network and prevent further decline.
David Parkyn
Fund and simplify species reintroductions
Bringing back Kent's lost species should be a priority if we want to create biodiverse, resilient landscapes. We're asking the government to fund species reintroduction projects and properly protect the species that are already reintroduced (such as the beaver who's making a home on the Stour River). We're also calling on the government to look at simplifying the species reintroduction process through mechanisms such as a traffic light system.
