The Wildlife Trusts’ Post

For too long, promises made to halt the destruction of our environment have been broken, diluted or delayed. Nature isn’t a luxury or a nice-to-have – it’s our life support system and it’s in crisis. It's time for us to stand together and demand swift political action to bring our amazing world back to life - it's time to #RestoreNatureNow: https://brnw.ch/21wK1af

#Lahaina, like many settlements around the world, used to be a wetland, as Emily Atkin reports in Heated. Is your community, or your home, built on a wetland? It's more common than you might think. Much more about it in my book "Water Always Wins." Disaster is an opportunity to build back differently, per the #Sendai Principles. Native Hawaiian Kaniela Ing is calling for "public lands, stewardship & water rights. Not just climate mitigation & adaptation. Also returning control of our public trust resources to the public." https://lnkd.in/d7EFbFr9

Combat desertification by reading our article on effective solutions to combat and prevent desertification. Learn how you can contribute to restoring degraded land and protecting our environment 🌱🌍 #CombatDesertification #ProtectOurPlanet #RestoreLand

Scotland is a brave country full of brave people. What is happening in that country is amazing - so many different people from different walks of life are imagining a different future for wildlife and for people. A future where people cede a little control back to nature to make the wild-looking landscapes have corresponding amounts of wild life and wild processes. It is an amazing example of what can be done; where some of the most degraded ecosystems and damaging land processes are juxtaposed with restoring landscapes and wilder places, that are already enriching the lives of many, not the few. Scotland can be an example of what can be achieved by the rest of the world, where rewilding benefits nature AND people. Show this is a future you want; sign the charter! #rewilding #sustainablefutures #Scotland

Known for its majestic Ponderosa Pines, its towering Douglas Firs and beautiful Red Cedars, Washington State is the Evergreen State. Unfortunately, we are losing our state's identity with less than half of our state being forested as a result of wildfires, disease, drought and development. At Washington State Department of Natural Resources, we refuse to let this be our destiny. And so we launched the Keep Washington Evergreen Initiative to save our forests and in doing so, we will save our environment, our communities, and our identity. The Initiative has three BIG GOALS for our agency to lead on: 1) to restore 1 million acres of forests in 20 years to reduce the catastrophic wildfires, 2) to conserve 1 million acres of working forests in 20 years preventing their development, and 3) to reforest 1 million acres of forests. On our first goal, we have made significant progress, restoring over 600,000 acres of federal, state, tribal and private forestlands in just 6 years. Challenging my team to work at the pace and scale of wildfire, we doubled-down and will reach our goal in half the time -- 10 years, not 20. On the second goal, we have made slow progress given limited funding. Until this month! Through a partnership with The Conservation Fund (TCF), together we purchased over 20,000 acres of working forestlands in Wahkiakum County. These lands provide critical fish and wildlife habitat, clean air and water, carbon sequestration, rural jobs and sustainable renewable wood products for our homes, hospitals and schools. This is the largest purchase of land in over a decade. This purchase was made possible in part as a result of our work to sell underperforming parcels of DNR land to buy more valuable working forestland and the Legislature's investment of $50 million dollars from the Climate Commitment Act in natural climate solutions. It was also made possible through our partnership with TCF and funding from green bonds and the Richard King Mellon Foundation. This success is an example of what can happen when we come together to fight for our forests, and stop fighting over our forests. It is an example of how coming together through strategic partnerships we can double our investment and double our impact. But we cannot let this be a one-off. With over 1 million acres of forest lands lost in the last 2 decades to development, we are hopeful that the Legislature will continue to invest in natural based climate solutions that our working forest lands provide. We will be back in early 2024 to thank the Legislature for their leadership, report our success and show the value of their investment. And we will be back to share more progress we are making towards our 1 million acre working forest conservation goal and our 1 million acre reforestation goal. #forest #climatechange #conservation #ruralcommunities #timber #sustainability #renewablefuture

A General Election has now been called. We know this is an absolutely critical moment for nature. 🌱 One in six species is currently in danger of going extinct in Great Britain. Wildlife decline has never been greater, and nature has never been more in need of our help. Ahead of the upcoming election, we're calling on all political parties to priotise nature. That means: 🦫 Bringing back the UK's lost wildlife 🌊 Ending river pollution and water scarcity 🌾 Funding wildlife-friendly farming 🤝 Enabling healthy communities through wilder planning 🌍 Tackling the climate emergency Nature matters to everyone, irrespective of voting choice, and political manifestos need to reflect this. 📖 Read more on our priorities for the next UK Government here: https://lnkd.in/eKy8hfSp #Somerset #GeneralElection #Nature #NatureRecovery

If you are interested in learning some ways states are harnessing their coastal #bluecarbon assets to combat #climatechange, this is the webinar for you. 

I'm late to post this, in part because I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Indonesia with the Landesa team to witness their impactful work firsthand. During my visit, I met with coastal communities who are exceptional stewards of mangrove forests. These forests not only provide food and income through abundant fish, crab, and shrimp fisheries, but also serve as vital carbon sinks. Mangrove trees are estimated to capture 4x more carbon than rainforests, making them crucial in our fight against climate change. These coastal communities are among over a billion people worldwide who lack legal rights to the lands that they live on, leaving them vulnerable to land seizures and trapping them in generational poverty. Landesa collaborates with national governments, local communities, and CSOs to promote inclusive, equitable land rights reform. Strengthening these rights helps reduce poverty and conflict, foster economic development, enhance food security, and protect vital ecosystems. Watch the next installment in King Philanthropies' video series here:

The Public Accounts Committee has warned the Government that its response to extreme weather is too short term, with not enough focus on supporting natural defences including woodlands, wetlands & floodplains. https://lnkd.in/eyDxcb7j In good condition these habitats are critical natural infrastructure that help protect communities & businesses from the effects of climate change. But with two thirds of England’s most important wildlife sites not in good condition, we're more exposed to flood, fire, & crop failure. At the moment, the main political parties have no long-term plan to invest in restoring our critical natural defences. We wouldn’t dream of living without a plan to maintain other critical national infrastructure, like roads or energy infrastructure, so why do we tolerate ongoing degradation of vital natural assets? Political leaders should commit to stronger duties on polluters to disclose their impacts on nature & pay for its restoration, alongside long-term public investment in nature.

The grim reality of #ClimateChange: elephants perishing from dehydration in Zimbabwe's largest animal reserve, their lifeless bodies strewn across the landscape. Journalists across the world bring attention to the environmental crisis, revealing that this seemingly distant threat is closer than we realize. It is our duty to future generations to reverse the effects of climate change. Stand with us in safeguarding #PressFreedom and supporting the brave journalists who bring these urgent stories to light: https://lnkd.in/dvntrZFq #WorldPressFreedomDay