Forthcoming legislative issues of interest to ecologists and conservationists in 2021
Forthcoming legislative issues of interest to ecologists and conservationists in 2021
This is our eleventh assessment of the forthcoming legislation that we consider is likely to
have consequences for ecologists or the environment. As a result of COVID-19 some aspects
are a repeat of expected activities for 2020. For example, this is again being named as a super
year for nature with the key global meetings delayed but likely to take place in 2021.
We consider issues ranging from a global scale, those in the European Union (EU), to those in the United Kingdom and constituent countries. In recent years we have reflected on the possible consequences of Brexit (EU Exit). Now there is a deal there is some clarity in the future although considerable uncertainty remains about the consequences. The objective of these scans is to outline expected policy changes to encourage the stronger link of science and policy. Each of the previous legislative scans (Sutherland 2011-20) can be downloaded for free on the British Ecological Society
website. We do not repeat issues described in previous years, even if still relevant.