Are we doomed?

‘We’re doomed’, a catchphrase familiar to viewers of Dad’s Army, might have been Private Frazer’s reaction to the recent State of Nature 2023 report, the first for four years.

It’s a comprehensive analysis of trends in wildlife abundance and distribution in the UK, produced by more than 50 nature conservation organisations.

The headlines are indeed shocking. Out of more than 10,000 species assessed by scientists, 16% are threatened with extinction from Great Britain (12% in Northern Ireland).

Take three specific groups of species. Almost a quarter of seabird species have dropped in abundance since 1986; that figure is almost half for 11 seabird species in Scotland. Pollinators, which are vital to our food and farming system, have seen an 18% decrease in UK distribution since 1970. Pest control species have seen more than a one-third decrease in distribution over the same period. While there have been some success stories, like the return of the secretive bittern to wetland habitats, the overall picture is gloomy, indeed dire.

It’s a theme on which this column has often touched, not surprising as it forms an ever-present backdrop to creation care. Every new report seems to add to the gloom. No-one wants to be a false prophet, but if you find these statistics alarming, I make no apologies for telling it as it is. Despite some signs of hope, things look pretty grim.

There are parallels with what’s happening to the climate, but I find it intriguing that although climate provokes strong and varied reactions (see for example, the claim of ‘climate alarmism’ in October’s en correspondence), the biodiversity crisis doesn’t, to anything like the same extent, at least in the UK.

There are plenty of vested interests out there, and I’ve certainly come across groups who actively try to undermine the scientific evidence for nature conservation. In some parts of the world like South America, environmentalists have lost their lives. But on the whole, ‘ecology deniers’ aren’t really a thing here.

I wonder if this is because the UK is a nation of nature-lovers, as demonstrated by the large membership of many nature conservation organisations or the audience for programmes such as Springwatch and Planet Earth III, David Attenborough’s latest series. The outpouring of emotion over the illegal felling of the Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian’s Wall also showed that a nerve had been touched in the public mood.

But for all the love of nature in the UK, sometimes the world seems indifferent or incapable of taking action to solve the biodiversity crisis. Governments are reluctant to take the radical action needed, even though the solutions are not rocket science. And of course, secular solutions are only sticking-plaster for the underlying problem that is human sin.

We don’t know exactly how the world is going to end. Is the coming of Jesus going to be preceded by the collapse of ecosystems and mass starvation? It would certainly be consistent with some readings of Revelation. As Christians, we hold on to God’s promise of a wonderful new heavens and a new earth, but we don’t know for sure how much worse things are going to get before the promise is fulfilled.

It’s encouraging to see that the church is starting to get the message of the need for creation care (see last month’s column on the work of A Rocha, for example). With many issues competing for churches’ time and attention, there’s still a need in many places to make it an integral part of the church’s mission.

We need to keep on praying for wisdom to be good stewards and that the church would avoid indifference even as we wait for the Lord’s return. And we can take practical steps for wildlife too in our homes and our church buildings, from feeding the birds to planting a native tree. What one thing will you do this month?