Paul de Zylva
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pauldezylva.bsky.social
Paul de Zylva
@pauldezylva.bsky.social
78 followers 9 following 45 posts
Nature - Climate - Rivers - Cities - Greenwash Spotter variously with Quaggy Waterways Action Group, London National Park City, London Sustainable Development Commission, Friends of the Earth, Wildlife and Countryside Link. FRSA
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pauldezylva.bsky.social
“I was fined for pouring away a small splash of coffee, yet Co’s that release harmful chemicals into our rivers often face no consequences. If we’re serious about protecting the environment, responsibility has to start at the top” www.rsc.org/news/burcu-yesilyurt-coffee-polluter-pays-partnership
November 6, 2025 at 8:59 AM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
How’s #Labour doing on its environment claims?

A view of the first year + a bit in power: Tues 4 Νov to #Bromley Friends of the Earth.

#aviation #biodiversity #climate #energy #planning #housing #planningandinfrastructurebill
#biodiversitynetgain #bng #rights #justice #transport #democracy
November 2, 2025 at 9:46 PM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
Rachel Reeves fails to mention in her #SpendingReview (SR) speech the UK’s poor state of nature.

That’s reflected in the modest (at best) SR funding for nature restoration, nature-friendly farmers.

Spun as historic investment when it’s a 2.3% budget cut for Defra on top of 45% cuts 2010-19. Fail.
June 11, 2025 at 1:44 PM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
The UK government is going ‘further and faster’ in allowing UK nature to be destroyed.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
June 4, 2025 at 8:04 AM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
‘Anthropocene Illusion' - Zed Nelson’s shot of a bored-looking chimp in Shanghai wins the Sony World Photo Award.

Nelson explores humanity’s fractured relationship with nature, from safari parks to synthetic green spaces, and reveal a world where the wild is staged and the natural is anything but.
‘Anthropocene Illusion' by Zed Nelson Photo of a bored-looking chimpanzee in Shanghai Wild Animal Park wins the 2025 Sony World Photography Award. The Anthropocene Illusion explores humanity’s fractured relationship with nature, from safari parks to synthetic green spaces, Nelson’s images reveal a world where the wild is staged and the natural is anything but. https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/04/16/from-skater-girls-to-climate-illusions-meet-the-winners-of-the-2025-sony-world-photography
April 17, 2025 at 7:16 AM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
Me in The Telegraph: “We can only imagine how bad sewage pollution was before real-time monitoring… Water customers – who are about to be hit with even higher water bills – will wonder what happened to their money which should have been used to prevent pollution long before now”
The Telegraph reports on the Environment Agency’s data for sewage spills in 2024 according to the use of real-time Event Duration Monitors (EDMs) in sewage overflows. My full quote follows - see other photos and ALT text. Green bar charts showing water and sewerage company sewage spills. More bar charts but in blue following by opening quote: "Despite politicians' warm words, these figures show we're nowhere near slowing the level of sewage entering our rivers and seas, putting wildlife and our health at serious risk.” The rest of my quote (and the bit the sub editors cut out!): "We can only imagine how bad sewage pollution was before the use of real-time monitoring, which was only introduced in 2023. “Water customers – who are about to be hit with even higher water bills – will wonder what happened to their money which should have been used to prevent pollution long before now." The Telegraph did not use the rest of my quote: "We need urgent, bold action by the government, not more anti-regulation rhetoric from ministers, to hold these and other serial polluters to account."
March 27, 2025 at 2:42 PM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
Compare and Contrast:

Trump ❤️ Putin
Trump ✋ finger points at Zelensky
February 28, 2025 at 9:53 PM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
This plan for the 4 🇬🇧 nations has admirable aims, but is a cut-and-paste of existing inadequate policies.

Reversing nature’s decline UK wide needs a credible strategy. This isn’t it @jncc.bsky.social @daera-ni.gov.uk @ukgovernment.bsky.social @scottishgov.bsky.social @welshgovernment.bsky.social
The UK's long overdue National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) is out: https://uk.chm-cbd.net/sites/gb/files/2025-02/UK_National_Biodiversity_Strategy_and_Action_Plan.pdf My view: This plan covering the four nations of the UK has some admirable aims but it’s mostly a cut-and-paste collage of existing inadequate policies. If we’re to reverse decades of nature decline across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, we urgently need a credible strategy to do so. The UK remains one of the most nature-depleted countries globally – it’s unclear whether this plan goes to the lengths needed to reverse the dire state of nature UK-wide. Without more ambition from the UK and devolved governments we may well face another decade of species, habitats and ecosystems being degraded or lost altogether. Context: The UK’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) brings the global agreement to reverse the poor state of nature back down to earth here in the UK. It is how each government in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will act to reverse the poor state of nature UK-wide by acting to reverse the poor state of nature in their respective nation. By acting in each nation and UK-wide, the NBSAP is also about how the UK contributes to global action to restore nature. The UK helped negotiate and is a signatory to the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the world’s agreement on reversing nature’s decline. The NBSAP turns the GBF’s 23 actions into on-the-ground delivery UK-wide. It also covers the UK’s responsibility toward its Overseas Territories (UKOTs) and Crown Dependencies. With only 53% of its biodiverse web of life intact, the UK is one of the world’s most nature-depleted nations. That puts the UK in the bottom 10 per cent of nations, 228th out of 240 nations. The UK is also the worst nation in the G7 for its biodiversity intactness. All UK nations are low down in the list of nations for intactness of their biodiversity.
February 26, 2025 at 6:24 PM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
Happy Birthday Richard Mabey, Britain’s foremost ‘nature writer.
February 20, 2025 at 8:42 AM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
“Farming's top of the agenda as far as I am concerned..."

That’s Sir Kier Starmer at PMQs replying to a question by Harriet Cross MP who asked if his farming minister, Daniel Zeichner, was right to say that farming’s down the pecking order.

See ALT text for the full Q&A.

#FamilyFarmTax #Farming
Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer replies to question at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 12 February 2025. Sir Kier said “Farming's top of the agenda as far as I am concerned..." Harriet Cross, the Conservative MP for Gordon & Buchan, asked Sir Kier: "Yesterday, the farming minister told a conference of farmers that farming is not high in the pecking order for this government. Given the heartless 'family farm tax' is his minister correct yes or no?" Sir Kier Starmer replied: "Farming's top of the agenda as far as I am concerned. That's why we've put £5 billion to support farmers in the budget. They failed to spend £300 million on their watch on farming. And we set out our roadmap which has been welcomed by the NFU as she very well knows. It was described as 'long overdue'. (I wonder why they didn't do it before.)”
February 12, 2025 at 2:30 PM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
Global leaders put environmental decline high on their list of concerns.

If only these leaders actually did something about it...!

The WEF 20th Global Risks Report continues the trend of previous risk reports putting environmental decline high on the list.

www.weforum.org/press/2025/0...
World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global risk report WEF’s global risks for 2023.
January 16, 2025 at 2:32 PM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
“An end to the annual pantomime of granting the ‘emergency’ use of these deeply harmful #pesticides is long overdue.. we’re not out of the woods yet - govt must follow through by fully committing to a complete ban..”

And in print next to another Paul (McCartney) www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Paul de Zylva, nature campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “An end to the previous government’s annual pantomime of granting the ‘emergency’ use of these deeply harmful pesticides is long overdue. But we’re not out of the woods yet – the government must follow through by fully committing to a complete ban come January. And it must go even further still, by scrapping the current, weak national pesticides action plan and instead produce a credible version.” UK government moves closer to a complete end to the use of bee-harming neonicotinoid pesticides. Three neonics pesticides were ‘banned’ in 2018 for use on outdoor crops such as oil seed rape and sugar beet. But the ban isn’t a complete ban because there’s a loophole which, since 2021, the pesticides industry, British Sugar, and the National Farmers’ Union have exploited, to seek ‘emergency’ use of one of the neonics. For the past four years, ministers have agree to this pre-planned ‘emergency’ application even going against the advice of their scientific advisers, as Friends of the Earth found when we examined the official papers. Guardian, page 6, Saturday 21 December 2024. Also see BBC write up with Craig Bennett of The Wildlife Trust quoted: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyp5p4dqj3o (Craig and I met Michael Gove when he was consider whether the UK should also restrict the use of neonics. We can’t take credit for Mr Gove’s decision. He looked at the evidence as all good ministers should.)
December 23, 2024 at 5:42 PM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
My hunch turns into a pre-Christmas news story.

The UK govt’s legal nature targets are at risk due to most (59%) of councils lacking local plans to help restore England’s dire state of nature.

See i news and The Independent (pictured) + local nationwide:
www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news...
The Independent, Friday 13 December 2024, tilted ‘Calls for nature-friendly planning reform to support struggling councils’. The i newspaper, Friday 13 December 2024, page 8, titled ‘Labour faces calls for greener policies’.
December 13, 2024 at 11:13 AM
pauldezylva.bsky.social
Three years and counting - water pollution criminal investigations enter 4th year

Today, 18 Nov, is the 3rd anniversary of the start of nationwide investigations by #Ofwat and the #EnvironmentAgency into whether water & sewerage companies breached agreed environmental permits.

Any update?
Blue placard at the 3rd November 2024 March for Water with the words, ‘Species NOT Faeces’, and pictures of vulnerable aquatic species (and a yellow ‘rubber duck’)!
November 18, 2024 at 11:14 AM