Law Society
hosts specialist environmental debate on Loss of
Biodiversity
Loss of Biodiversity was
the topic of discussion at the latest 'Castle Debate', held at the
Law Society last night.
The free debate, chaired
by Pamela Castle OBE, focused on the current rate of decline in
biodiversity at global, national and regional
levels.
The event boasted a wide
range of leading expert speakers including Sir Graham Wynne, former
Chief Executive, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Niall
Watson, Programmes Legal Adviser at the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF)-UK and Robin Mortimer, Director Biodiversity Programme, The
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra).
They considered the fact
that the 2010 conservation targets set by the Convention on
Biological Diversity in 2001 have not been reached. The Government
addressed the issue in its White Paper 'The Natural Choice:
securing the value of nature' following Sir John Lawton's review of
England's wildlife and ecological networks.
Commenting on the
decline in biodiversity, Sir Graham Wynne said, “It is
possible to halt the spiral of decline and the economic and social
case for doing so is overwhelming but it will require decision
makers to see the bigger picture and beyond the three year
horizon.”
Niall Watson of the WWF
added, “To be meaningful, our laws and policies need to
reflect the fact that biodiversity is a “must have”
rather than a “nice to have”.
The Law Society has
thrown its weight behind this second programme of Castle Debates, a
series of high level environmental debates with leading scientific,
legal and governmental speakers, organised in association with
Sykes Environmental and sponsored by the ENDS
Report.
The Law Society is
supporting this series of events as part of its commitment to
managing, monitoring and reducing the environmental impact of its
own operations as well as working with its members to support the
collective reduction of the profession's carbon footprint and
adoption of more environmentally sustainable practices through the
Legal Sector Alliance.
Solicitors and wider
members of the legal profession are invited to attend the
forthcoming debate, which will be held at the Law
Society.
Law Society Chief
Executive Desmond Hudson said: 'Acting on climate change is in our
collective interest, individually, as businesses and as a
profession. The clients and employees of law firms across England
and Wales recognise that immediate action to reduce our adverse
impact on the planet's resources is necessary and imperative. Being
a member of the Legal Sector Alliance is an opportunity to
demonstrate commitment and enables firms to share best practice and
understanding of current industry trends.”
Pamela Castle, OBE,
Chair of the Castle debates, said: “The purpose of these
Debates is to provide objective and factual clarification on a wide
range of environmental issues which are fundamental to our future
health and prosperity, emphasising the crucial roles of law and
regulation and Government policy”.
Ends
Notes to
Editors
To book a place on the
next debate please emailevents@lawsociety.org.uk
The Law Society is the
independent professional body, established for solicitors in 1825,
that works globally to support and represent its members, promoting
the highest professional standards and the rule of
law.
Find out more about the
Legal Sector Alliance:http://www.legalsectoralliance.com/
Contact: Catherine Reed,
The Law Society
+44 (0)20 7320
5902