Protecting the beating heart of nature: ELF backs the Bristol Declaration

 

ELF is proud to announce that we are signatories of ‘The Bristol Declaration’. The declaration was proposed by Buglife, Butterfly Conservation and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and has been supported by over 60 signatories. It is an emergency call for urgent, coordinated action to address the severe and continuing decline in the UK’s insect populations. It asks governments, businesses, land managers, and society to act on the evidence and commit to restore insect-friendly habitats at scale and reduce activities that harm insects – through conservation programmes, sustainable practices and policy change.

The declaration notes the following;

Insects underpin the ecological foundations of life, they pollinate wildflowers and crops, recycle nutrients, support soil health, naturally control pests, and provide food for birds, bats, fish, and other wildlife. They bring sound and colour to summer days, inspire art and music, and connect us to the natural world while significantly contributing to the economy. Yet, mounting evidence, gathered through decades of monitoring, reveals dramatic declines in abundance, diversity, and distribution of many species across multiple insect groups in the UK. From beetles and bumblebees to butterflies and freshwater insects, the warning signs are clear.

The impact humans are having on insect populations is clear in our day to day lives. Year on year, there is less buzzing of bees, fewer spider webs on trees and in silence you can no longer hear crickets. The ‘windshield phenomenon’ is a mass observation that fewer dead insects have been accumulating on windshield wipers of cars since the early 2000s. The latest data from Bugs Matter notes that the number of flying insects sampled on vehicle number plates, across the UK, has fallen by a staggering 63% since 2021. Both data and anecdotal evidence is clear- insects are declining at a rate both completely unnatural and completely unsustainable to the earth’s continued existence.

The declaration notes several causes of this decline- habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticide and chemical use, intensive agriculture, climate change, pollution, and the spread of invasive non-native species. In our work at ELF, on a daily basis we see mass destruction and clearance of vital insect habitat and wildlife corridors to make way for development, chemical and waste pollution poisoning insect food sources and habitats, artificial light pollution from street lighting disrupting insect nocturnal life cycles to name a few.

We are in an insect crisis. Despite this, decision makers at a local and national level are not taking insects into account adequately. We signed this declaration to highlight the need for urgent attention to this catastrophic rate of loss, so action can be taken before it is too late. If your organisation is interested in becoming a signatory to the Bristol Declaration, please email info@buglife.org.uk with the subject line – The Bristol Declaration.