Ensuring that wildlife and the environment is protected once the UK leaves the EU is of key importance as the green agenda battles amidst a myriad of competing interests as part of Brexit negotiations.

To help speak up for nature at this critical time, BC is pleased to join Greener UK, a coalition of 13 organisations who have come together to ensure the environment doesn't get forgotten about post-Brexit.

EU directives have pushed UK governments into action to clean up beaches and rivers and have provided strong protections for birds and habitats, including some important butterfly sites across Europe.

In the UK, the threatened Marsh Fritillary is one of many examples of species that have benefitted directly from these protections. The issues facing our pollinators have also been pushed into the spotlight recently, with EU support for further research into the decline of butterfly, bee and moth numbers, such as finding out about the impact of Neonicotinoid pesticides on insects.

Butterfly Conservation do not want this progress to be lost, which is why we have become part of the Greener UK’s call on the Government to restore and enhance the UK’s environment and maintain its environmental protections during Brexit negotiations.

BC Chief Executive, Dr Martin Warren, said: “Much of our wildlife legislation has been framed by the EU in recent decades and it is vital that we maintain strong protection for nature after we leave the EU. Butterflies and moths are under articular threat so we need a strong Government framework if we are to conserve them and other wildlife in decades to come.”

  • Around 145 MPs have now backed the Greener UK pledge
  • Four out of five people in the UK say that they would like to see environmental protections maintained or strengthened.

The core organisations BC is supporting as part of Greener UK include: Campaign for Better Transport, ClientEarth, CPRE, E3G, Friends of the Earth, Green Alliance, Greenpeace, National Trust, RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts, The Woodland Trust, WWF, and Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.