Experts warn, we MUST change our approach to conservation A report that pulls together all the evidence on the state of England’s natural environment has been published for the first time today (Monday 19th May), revealing an urgent need to address the way we approach conservation in this country. Natural England (the Government advisory body) is warning that England is ‘locked in to 50 years of climate change’ which has already had an irreversible effect on some areas of countryside and wildlife. The number of farmland birds has been cut by half since the 1970s and seven species of arable plants have become extinct. The State of the Natural Environment report highlights the stress on both land and coastal areas from climate change, pollution and the modern pressures of development and concludes that if we don’t act now, some of our most precious wildlife will be lost forever. Key findings include: • A 50% decline in native woodland butterflies due to poor woodland...