Can a new ‘nature envoy’ bring UK wildlife back from the brink?

The UK is one of the “most nature-depleted countries on Earth”, with one in six species at risk of extinction.

To combat this, the country’s new Labour government has appointed a Special Representative for Nature.

As the UK’s first envoy for nature, Ruth Davis – one of the country’s leading environmental policy experts – will be charged with halting environmental collapse and putting nature at the heart of UK domestic and foreign policy. 

“We depend on nature in every aspect of our lives – it underpins our economy, health and society – and yet progress to restore our wildlife and habitats has been too slow,” says the UK’s Environment Secretary, Steve Reed.

“Ruth’s extensive knowledge and expertise will be vital to help us deliver on our commitments to put nature on the road to recovery.”

The news comes as the COP16 biodiversity conference kicks off in Cali, Colombia, today, tasked with fulfilling the global agreement made last year to protect 30 per cent of nature by 2030.

How will the UK’s new envoy for nature protect the environment?

In the UK, and globally, nature decline is at crisis point.

“The climate and nature emergency is the most profound and universal source of global disorder,” says UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. 

“One million species are facing extinction, including one third of both marine mammals and coral reefs. And wildlife populations [have] fallen by 73 per cent since 1970, mostly due to a staggering 83 per cent collapse in freshwater species.”

Creating the Special Representative for Nature role is the first step in addressing this.

“The government has recognised that the nature crisis is of equal gravity to the climate crisis, and that we cannot tackle one without addressing the other,” says Davis. 

“Ecosystems and the species they support are essential to maintain food security, reduce health risks and manage the impacts of rising global temperatures.”

In her 25 years of working on nature recovery and climate change issues, Davis has advised the UK government – including when it hosted COP26 in 2021, helping to secure a global pledge to end deforestation signed by 145 countries. 

As a tireless environmental campaigner, she has also worked with leading nature organisations including Greenpeace, RSPB and Plantlife.

Armed with a Master’s in Plant Sciences from Reading University and a diploma in Botanical Horticulture from Kew, she will uphold the UK’s commitment to the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed at COP15 last year.

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This will include “ensuring that the rules and incentives that govern the global economy work to protect and restore nature, and that we invest in the commitment, knowledge and passion of local people, who are critical to safeguarding the places where they live,” she says.

Which other European countries have appointed nature representatives?

As countries across Europe struggle with the effects of the climate crisis, specialist new roles have been cropping up to combat emerging threats.

In a European first, Athens appointed a chief heat officer (CHO) in 2021 to protect citizens in the Greek capital from worsening heatwaves, wildfires and weather extremes.

Since then, local heatwaves have been classified into different categories and forecasting tools have been strengthened, making it easier to communicate and mitigate the risks of extreme weather.

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The role is currently held by Elissavet Bargianni, an expert in climate mitigation, adaptation, and urban resilience. It sees her advocate for cooling solutions, improve the city’s responses to extreme heat, and mobilise stakeholders to accelerate climate resilience and adaptation.

In 2021, Finland appointed Antti Rautavaara to lead its International Water Strategy as Special Envoy for Water. In the role, he aims to ensure fair and responsible water security globally by 2030.

Germany, meanwhile, appointed its first Special Representative for the Oceans in 2022 in recognition of the growing importance of marine conservation and the sustainable use of the oceans.

In this role, he has advocated for a moratorium on deep sea mining and, most recently, started working with the federal environment ministry to clear 1.6 million tonnes of old ammunition from World War One and Two from the North and Baltic seabeds.

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