Force of Nature - Reversing nature’s decline and promoting equity in the green transition
A call to action for immediate action on green jobs to tackle nature decline across the UK.
Nature in the UK is in decline. Since 1970, UK species have declined by 19% on average, and nearly 1 in 6 species are now threatened with extinction. Most people connect with nature close to home but funding to manage our 27,000 urban parks and green spaces has been drastically reduced.
The UK is blessed with organisations working to stem this decline, to help nature recover and to ensure everyone has access to good quality green and blue spaces to support their health and wellbeing. Despite many successes, the long-term trend is in the wrong direction and more capacity and investment is needed in the face of a growing climate and nature crisis.
The nature sector needs to increase its capacity and diversity if we are to reverse this. Creating accessible pathways into nature jobs has potential to deliver high quality careers for people who are currently under-represented in the sector. A more representative nature workforce will, in turn, help encourage a wider variety of people to connect with and benefit from nature, helping to address current inequalities.
New to Nature was created to test new approaches to addressing these issues.
Published November 2024

