We have declared war on nature – and it’s putting us all in danger

A leaked government report reveals the biodiversity crisis could destabilise the planet and cost us more than Covid in just four years.

This week’s guest post is from Nick Milton, a co-operator, conservationist and author who writes books about nature and history - you can find his website here.

As President Trump’s illegal war in the Middle East continues to dominate the global news, another less headline-grabbing war proceeds apace. The war on nature, long highlighted by the UN Secretary General António Guterres, has already caused untold death and destruction. Since the1970s global wildlife populations have undergone a catastrophic decline of nearly 75%.

Picture of dead birds from the cover of my book The Birdman of Auschwitz.

Following the Industrial Revolution, the world experienced a sixth mass extinction event of plants and animals. Today, a third of the remaining species that make up life on earth are threatened with extinction. Accelerated by climate change, the war on nature has profound consequences not just for wildlife but the future of humanity. Yet the security and economic impacts of this biodiversity crisis have been difficult to quantify – until now.

In January, a landmark report was finally published by government – after months of delays, and following an FOI request. The report declared that the global biodiversity crisis is now a national security risk to the UK rather than just an environmental concern. Produced by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, it was based on data provided by the intelligence community, including MI6.

Nature on a pathway to collapse

The conclusions of the report were stark. It stated that “global ecosystem degradation and collapse threaten UK national security and prosperity”, adding that “every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse.”

But the most damning parts of the report were suppressed by Downing Street because they were deemed “too negative”. The full report was only leaked to the media on the day Trump bombed Iran.

The unredacted report obtained by ITV News showed that global nature loss will in the next four years cost the UK more than the Covid pandemic. It found that damage to the natural environment is already slowing UK growth and productivity, and could lead to annual GDP being “12% lower than it would have been otherwise by 2030”.

Escalating global conflicts

The full report makes sobering reading. On global migration, it states that the combined biodiversity and climate crises will force millions of people to move from areas which will become increasingly uninhabitable. On food production, it highlights the “risk of NATO being drawn into escalating conflicts over arable land”, such as the breadbaskets of Ukraine and Russia.

On nuclear weapons, it states that shrinking glaciers in the Himalayas will “almost certainly escalate tension” between China, India and Pakistan, increasing the threat of “nuclear exchanges”. And on health, it reveals the risk of diseases like anthrax being released into the environment as the Arctic tundra thaws - potentially leading to mass mortality events.

In relation to the UK, the report warns of an ever-greater rise in “polarised and populist politics”, increased pressure on national infrastructure, and growing food shortages. The report follows on from the National Emergency Briefing on Climate and Nature, which stated that without immediate national action, society faces the consequences of irreversible nature and climate breakdown.

The Greens - a glimmer of hope

Many politicians are unwilling to acknowledge the scale of the threat posed by the biodiversity crisis - and most failed to attend the National Emergency Briefing. The unredacted national security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security is a much harder report to ignore - but despite the gravity of the findings, it generated few headlines and no national debate.

In response, 25 nature organisations representing over 5 million members, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, World Wildlife Fund and the Wildlife Trusts, have now written to the Prime Minister demanding that the government provide international leadership on the issues raised in the report.

Given Labour’s track record on the environment, the hostility of Reform to eco-populist policies, and the increasing irrelevance of the Conservatives, what happens next depends on the Greens. Their rise in the opinion polls under the leadership of Zack Polanski, which has seen membership surge to more than 200,000, offers a glimmer of hope.

Because unless we stop the war on nature, our children and our grandchildren will live in an increasingly unsafe world - and they will pay a very heavy price for our generation’s inaction.

You can find more of Nick Milton’s work on his website.