The United Kingdom is about to make a big leap forward in environmental politics for the first time in its history to appoint a Nature Envoy.
To some extent, this decision indicates the increasing demand for more effective leadership in the existing international initiatives to preserve biological diversity and conserve the most valuable species.
A New Role to Tackle Biodiversity Crisis
The appointment of the Nature Envoy emphasise the UK’s willingness to play a part to solve the current global ecological catastrophe. One million species are at risk of going extinct due to human activity, according to a UN report, and the world is on the verge of a rapidly increasing rate of extinction.
The UK itself, as a country itself, has also undergone a significant decline in terms of biological diversity through the loss of habitats due to development, farming, and industrial processes.
The Nature Envoy is going to be expected to personally promote actions that seek to address this issue, especially as it pertains to the conservation of biochemical diversity and species within the UK as well as globally.
This new position will probably entail negotiating with other countries and organizations and coordinating and cooperating on strategies and measures that seek to protect biodiversity. The role will also include making sure that the protection of biological diversity is one of the top priorities at the international level, including in the framework of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Strategy of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Strengthening the UK’s Global Environmental Influence
The appointment of a Nature Envoy is also part of a bigger plan to make the UK effective in the global environment talks. Over the last couple of years, the United Kingdom has also aimed at boosting its leadership on climate efforts; for instance, it held the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow and set out ambitious net-zero plans to reduce emissions.
This shift is in tandem with the UK’s recent standing after Brexit, that is, repositioning its positioning in the international system. Due to the absence of the European Union’s leadership in environmental policy-making for the UK, the government has the opportunity to implement its plans.
In this regard, the appointment of a Nature Envoy illustrates the UK’s commitment towards being an active global leader and whose diplomacy is set on championing for the implementation of nature-based solutions to climate change as well as demanding for greater global ambition when it comes to conservation of the natural world.
Enhancing Domestic Conservation Efforts
Although the essence of the Nature Envoy will entail global diplomacy, this position means a lot to the United Kingdom’s local conservation initiatives. The last couple of years have seen alarming reports that illuminate the effect that the UK is now one of the world’s most nature-depleted nations and ask if more should be done to reverse the current trend as a number of species continue to struggle.
This is because Nature Envoy can link the global conservation efforts to the local conservation initiatives to help in entrenching international commitments at the national level.
For instance, the UK’S government has said it will protect 30% of land and sea space by 2030, a commitment that is in line with the CBD objectives. It therefore suggests a key function of the Nature Envoy in making certain that this goal will be achieved through a call for enhancing the protection of the essential biomes, promoting the rewilding measures, and calling for increased investment in nature-based solutions both in the private and the public domains.
A Catalyst for Future Environmental Action
The appointment of a Nature Envoy is in many ways a key staging post in the evolution of the UK’s environmental policy but it is only the first. One cannot fail to notice that such a role has the potential of generating more action by even other countries to uphold similar steps, therefore establishing a tempo for more escalated international commitments towards the cause of biodiversity.
Global warming, pollution, deforestation and similar issues have made the ecology of the earth stand on the edge of a precipice and now global leadership is required to guide the people towards positive change.
Working as the first Nature Envoy, one needs to not only deliver in diplomacy but also in the tangible change one is able to bring about in the international negotiations.
From mobilizing new funding for the protection of the biodiverse world to building cooperation with other nations and regions to influencing the policymaking that affects nature conservation within the country and around the world, the Nature Envoy will be at the center of defining further development of conservation in the coming years.
Therefore, the decision to appoint a nature envoy in the UK is a sure sign that the stakes in the crisis of nature have been acknowledged in the country. From this, it might transform into world power in environmental diplomacy and enhance both global and home conservation endeavors.
ASH CK