A question to full Council by Green Party county councillor Jonathan Elmer to declare an ecological emergency in County Durham has resulted in an action plan to protect habitats and improve biodiversity.
Durham County Council’s Cabinet has approved a report outlining the Council’s response to the declaration of an ecological emergency in April 2022.
Commenting on the Cabinet decision, Jonathan says:
“This is a really positive move by Durham County Council and puts habitat protection and improving biodiversity at the heart of Council decision-making.
“The Cabinet’s signing off of the strategy and action plan is a major step forward in the global struggle to protect wildlife habitats and biodiversity in the face of unrelenting global pressure on these vital issues.
“The report to Cabinet emphasised that despite efforts to date by the Council and its partners, the trend in the County is one of biodiversity and habitat decline.
“As a result of approving this ecological emergency action plan, the Council has committed itself to doing everything within its current resources to reverse that decline.
“County Durham Green Party can be proud of the role it has played in making habitat protection and improving biodiversity a policy priority for the County Council.”
Why is Biodiversity important?
Thanks to the California Academy of Sciences for this video from their Biodiversity Course.
