The National Trust, the charity ‘committed to
promoting and preserving places of natural beauty and historic interest in the UK
[1] has published its 2021 review of the state of nature in the country.
For 126 years the trust has worked to preserve historic
houses and other buildings, it also has in its care significant areas of countryside
and coastline.
The 2021 Weather and Wildlife review [2] highlights
the impact climate change is having on species and the habitats that support
them and identifies ‘winners’ and ‘losers’.
The year ending has presented challenges for the natural
world in the shape of, as the report describes it ‘extreme weather events and
untimely seasonal conditions’ that have ‘wreaked havoc on moorland, coastal and
woodland habitats.
These include in the Spring and Summer an unusually
dry March followed by late frosts in April and May, then a Summer that fell
within the ten warmest on record. Following on from this a ‘settled and warm’
September causing trees to shed their leaves early, as Autumn gave way to
Winter Storm Arwen swept in causing widespread devastation. Overall winters are
getting milder with warm and wet conditions triggering diseases damaging to
trees with many having to be felled.
Among the species emerging as ‘winners’ are beavers
with record numbers of pups expected to be born, numbers of rare spiders have
also increased with the endangered species Zora silvestris being discovered at
Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire. A dry April followed by a warm June made 2021
a bumper year for wildflowers and a warm and damp autumn saw similar growth in
fungi.
Losers include the substantial number of trees having to
be felled following a resurgence of diseases such as ash dieback, which led to
30,000 trees having to be cut down across the country. Thousands of larch trees
were also lost in the Lake District after an outbreak of Phytophthora. Storm
Arwen caused devastation to forests in northern England and North Wales, the
bill to replace these could exceed £3million.
Guillemots, razorbills and other seabirds were found
dead or dying along the south coast during the summer, part of a pattern of
unexplained mortality seen across Europe. Although not officially tagged as ‘losers’
it was a tough year for terns, with some species suffering as high tides flooded
their nesting sites, Brent geese also struggled with a smaller than usual
number of young birds making the arduous flight over from Canada.
Ben McCarthy Head of Nature Conservation and
Restoration Ecology at the National Trust said 'Climate change is
making some forms of extreme weather events the new normal. Heatwaves and heavy
rainfall are becoming more frequent and more intense’.
Adding that 'What we’re seeing in the UK
with the impacts of wildfires and severe storms such as Arwen and Barra, is how
climate change is altering our landscapes forever.'
The
National Trust now see dealing with the impact of climate change as one of the
major issues driving how it preserves the buildings, collections, and landscapes
for which it has responsibility.
In a
statement on their website, they describe how they are ‘having to make building
alterations to cope with flooding and manage the effects of a changing
coastline and rising sea levels. Almost three quarters of the most important
land in our care is vulnerable to climate change. Not only do these landscapes
support wildlife, they also store carbon’.
Going
on to say they are working to tackle the ‘causes of climate change by reducing
emissions, caring for the land that captures and stores carbon, nurturing
wildlife habitats and putting pressure on the Government to adopt policies that
will help us all look after the places their members love to visit’ [3].
Serious
though it is for the landscapes the National Trust looks after climate change
is a global phenomenon, with a report published by Christian Aid estimating
that the ten worst extreme weather events including Hurricane Ida and the
flooding across much of western Europe in July caused $1.5billion in damage.
In
August the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its sixth saying
that it now had ‘high confidence’ that the evidence for human influence on
extreme weather events has been strengthened [4].
Despite
hopes that the COP26 summit held in Glasgow earlier this year marked a change of
pace in moves to address climate change as leading nations including the United
States and China struggle to turn fine words into concrete actions. Concerns
are growing that any steps made will be too hesitant to make the dramatic impact
needed [5].
Designating
‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in how species and the habitats that support them adapt,
or fail to, to climate change is a useful means of gaining media attention. It
shouldn’t though detract from a far more important message.
Climate
change is a real and present danger, one that will do more harm to every nation
than the two world wars of the last century and the pandemic put together. Governments
need to stop manoeuvring and horse trading and recognize that without concerted
and coordinated action there will soon be no winners only losers.
[1]https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/for-everyone-for-ever-our-strategy-to-2025
[2] https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/2021-weather-and-wildlife-review
[3] https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/tackling-climate-change-together
[4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59761839
[5] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59744522
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