Nature Emergency

Rother DC, December 2025

Rother District Council resolves to:

  • 1.  Declare that we are experiencing a nature emergency, recognising that:
    • Nature is in long term decline and urgent action must be taken to reverse this.
    • A thriving natural environment underpins a healthy, prosperous society.
    • The nature crisis and the climate emergency are intrinsically linked and that the impacts of
    • the climate crisis drive nature’s decline, while restoring nature can help to tackle the climate crisis.
    • Environmental protection is not incompatible with development but is essential for lasting progress.
    • Rother District Council’s Local Plan Policies take account of the climate emergency, the biodiversity crisis and the Nature Recovery Strategy. This motion is extending these aims to cover all the Council’s activities.
  • 2.  Continue to commit to embedding nature’s recovery at the heart of all strategic plans, policy areas and decision-making processes.
  • 3.  Commit to tackling the climate and nature emergencies together and investing in nature-based solutions to climate change.
  • 4.  Develop and agree on an evidence-based strategy and action plan for nature’s recovery and report through the Climate Change Steering Group on the progress made. This should be part of the commitment to Sussex Nature Recovery Strategy.
  • 5.  Set clear strategic goals for nature’s recovery by 2030, for example, covering the following areas:
    • Increasing space for wildlife and long-term maintenance and expansion of the Nature Recovery Network on our own land and through planning policy for new developments.
    • Reducing pressure on wildlife.
    • Improving doorstep access to nature, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
    • Supporting communities and businesses to make better decisions and take action to support nature’s recovery.
    • Ensuring the sustainable management of resources such as clean water and sanitation for all.
    • Work with local communities and organisations to achieve the strategic goals, particularly engaging with disadvantaged and underrepresented sections of society.