Sociopolitical turmoil. War. Mass movement of people. Resource shortages. Following a government report on global biodiversity collapse as a national security threat, we consider what this really means for everyday people and our most vulnerable communities.
Last week Defra made headlines with a global biodiversity report pointing to the collapse of ecosystems as a trigger risk to national security. It should be a wake-up call. The analysis rightly highlights threats to global stability, food systems and geopolitical resilience; projecting competition over imports and mass global migrations that pose grave diplomatic challenges and increase the likelihood of conflict.
But the report is light on details relating to where these impacts will be felt most deeply. Specifically, within UK communities.
Biodiversity loss is the lesser reported cousin of climate change – but it is not an abstract environmental issue. It shapes peoples’ access to food in the availability of the weekly shop, stretches their budget with the fragility of food prices. Tree coverage, soil quality and flora and fauna’s natural roles in the carbon system mitigate a community’s exposure to flooding, fires, and extreme heat. This is particularly true in our towns and cities.
Accessibility to nature or the lack of it mediate public physical and mental health. Money, food, shelter and health are the foundations of everyday security and, ultimately, our relative peace and social cohesion. As global ecological systems destabilise, the consequences will increasingly play out locally, through shocks to food and fuel supply, infrastructure failure, and widening inequalities. Look back at the empty shelves and stockpiling of water and toilet paper when lockdowns occurred and imagine that not just as an isolated one off, but week-on-week, month-to-month.
All communities will feel these impacts, but not equally. Evidence from The Young Foundation’s GoZero Index, alongside data held by bodies such as Natural England, shows that places with higher levels of deprivation, poorer health outcomes, and fragile or declining energy, transport and civic infrastructure are significantly less prepared to absorb environmental and economic shocks. These communities often have less access to green space, higher exposure to flood and heat risk, and fewer local assets to fall back on in a crisis.
There are important lessons here for local and devolved governance. Progress on biodiversity and environmental governance has been prioritised in Wales, with input from The Young Foundation, and Scotland, including through stronger environmental oversight and clearer duties on public bodies. By contrast, biodiversity has increasingly slipped down the agenda within the UK government’s overarching climate commitments, which remain heavily focused on clean energy transition rather than the wider systems that underpin resilience.
At the same time, leadership is challenged at local level. Over the past decade, two-thirds of UK councils declared a climate emergency, often accompanied by commitments on nature recovery, climate adaptation and community engagement. Yet a growing number of councils are now rolling back climate strategies and biodiversity commitments, often following political change and under intense financial pressure. This retreat is understandable in context, but it is also effectively abandoning a duty to protect and preserve local areas.
Rolling back action on nature leaves communities exposed to precisely the shocks the report warns are now almost inevitable. Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems go beyond sustaining our lives at home: they play a critical – if largely hidden – role in all aspects of local life. Whether it’s supporting agricultural productivity through pollination and soil health, or protecting public health through cleaner air and access to green space, these are not ‘nice-to-haves’. They are essential systems that underpin local economies, public services and our ability to eat, thrive and stay well.
If shocks are inevitable, as the report suggests, then preparedness becomes as important as prevention. Alongside long-term plans to decarbonise energy and reform public services, the UK urgently needs a ‘meanwhile strategy’ for community resilience, as The Young Foundation’s report on the state of national preparedness found is lacking. This means equipping people and places to withstand and recover from short- and medium-term disruptions to food, fuel, water and welfare systems – and recognising communities as part of our Critical National Infrastructure.
For local government, this points to the need for place-based resilience planning that joins up across traditional silos. There are also a growing number of community-led initiatives already working to build resilience on the ground. From Edinburgh to North Ayreshire, Greater London to Buckingshire, local food partnerships based on the ‘Right to Grow’ are strengthening local supply chains; community energy schemes are reducing exposure to volatile fuel prices; and homegrown nature-based solutions are delivering flood protection while improving public space and wellbeing.
With the right support, these initiatives can play a significant role in reducing risk and strengthening social cohesion, but they require sustained investment, enabling regulation and partnership with local authorities. The call for climate resilience plans was previously strong in public bodies and UK agencies responsible for the built and natural environment, but consistent progress is falling behind without sustained championship and funding sources led by government.
The cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of preparedness. Failing to plan for foreseeable shocks will place additional strain on emergency services, health systems and local authority budgets, while deepening inequalities between places that are able to adapt and those that are not.
Defra’s report makes clear that biodiversity collapse is no longer a distant threat. For national government, local authorities and environmental professionals, the challenge now is to translate that warning into action that protects communities where they live and supports them to play a part in preparing for a choppy immediate and mid-term future. Nature recovery, climate adaptation and community resilience are not separate agendas. They are inseparable parts of a credible approach to local and national security.
Emily Morrison is Director of Sustainability and Just Transition at The Young Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, working with communities, organisations and policymakers across the UK.
Image: Mingming Ouyang / Unsplash
More Case Studies, Features & Industry Insight:
How to avoid supporting the most destructive food production practices
Healthcare policy must include nutrition science for human and planetary health