In this article from BBC, author Roger Harrabin discusses wildlife and the environments of "far-flung British territories [being] under threat." British environmental ministers are blaming Brexit from distracting from the more pressing issues of the earth and wildlife endangerment to which the British government has called "unfair" criticism. The government has also recently highlighted the importance of the protected marine areas they have implemented, however, they fail to transparently take responsibility for their own overseas territory, and there is obvious confusion and miscommunication to which sector is responsible for the islands threatened.
The main issue here is the shift of blame when action needs to be taken, not debated over, in the face of this urgent matter. While the Foreign Office reverts action onto Defra, and the Ministry of Justice, aid department DFID, and individual ministers argue over respective views, the environment fails. With 19 British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies under the UK holding 94% of Britain's endemic species (species that cannot be found anywhere else in the world), this matter's exigency consists of those animals' survival.
Much like the island nations (such as the Maldives and Indonesia) we discussed in class during our mock UNEP session, these British territories are extremely susceptible to direct and present climate change effects. Though processes and efforts to combat climate change have happened in the past, such as reforestation attempts, the budget for the Foreign Office environmental department has been almost halved by the British government. In addition to that, a substantial amount of funding for preservation came from the EU, which again highlights the negative impact of Brexit on the environment. In a quote from the article, "Gibraltar's minister John Cortes, a professional ecologist, said he was nervous at the possibility of Spanish encroachment on protected marine zones after the UK has left the EU." The effects of Brexit are rippling through many different channels, and unfortunately, the environment is bearing some of the cost.
Harrabin ends the article saying, "[The islands'] best hope is that when Brexit is settled, the UK will devote more of its time and energy to them, rather than less." This should not be the best possible course of action; merely hoping will not stop the endangerment of the earth's animals and ecosystems. Yet again, I am writing a call for action for nations to take responsibility and implement proactive anti-climate change laws as a priority. The future depends on whether we take action now, and we must step up before it's too late.
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