Habitat loss and wildlife trade has led to a decline of approximately a third in species numbers in the last 35 years, according to the WWF for Nature. Climate change will negatively affect wildlife over the next 30 years.

Animal populations are recorded by WWF’s Living Planet Index. The Index tracks 4,000 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and amphibians all over the world. It reveals a drop of 25 per cent in land-based species between 1970 and 2007. Marine life dropped by 28 per cent and freshwater species by 29 per cent. Marine bird species have dropped 20 per cent in numbers since the mid-1990s.

Scientists are alarmed that these significant losses of plants, animals and insects – especially since the bee crisis and Colony Collapse Disorder – is the beginning of the sixth great species wipe out since the earth came into existence.

They also fear that medicines will be less readily producible as most come from nature. Human survival may well be in grave danger.

James Leape, WWF director said: “Reduced biodiversity means millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable to pests and disease and where water is in irregular or short supply – No one can escape the impact of biodiversity loss because reduced global diversity translates quite clearly into fewer new medicines, greater vulnerability to natural disasters and greater effects from Global Warming.”

Stephen Hopper, the head of Britain’s Kew Gardens said last month that biodiversity is much like a planetary health monitor: “First aiders always check the ABC – Airway, Breathing and Circulation – of a patient to see if anything needs immediate attention – Biodiversity is the ABC of life on the planet – and it is showing it is in deep trouble.”

According to WWF International, “Global warming has the potential to cause extinctions in a majority of the world’s especially valuable ecosystems – Depending on a species response to the warming, especially their ability to migrate to new sites, habitat change in many ecoregions has the potential to result in catastrophic species loss.” The charity believes that many species will have to redistribute themselves in order to keep within the climate zone they need for survival. Unfortunately not all animals have the ability to move fast enough: “These species, as far as we know given present knowledge, may well become extinct.”

WWF campaign head Colin Butfield said: “There are small signs of hope and if the government grasp what is left of this rapidly closing window of opportunity, we can begin to reverse this trend.”

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On questioning a friend about her mud stained trousers she replied that she had they had spent the day working on an allotment on the outskirts of town. The first thing that came to mind were glimpses through train windows of dog-on-a-string types drinking special brew, circled around compost heaps and bonfires by the railway sidings.

This reaction must have been apparent as I was promptly informed that allotment spaces actually served to provide viable spaces for farming in an urban environment.

As it happened the reasons for the introduction of allotments resembled things I had heard discussed in the local organic greengrocers: Seasonal vegetables, organic produce, transport costs and the carbon footprint.

It seems that during the Second World War, as a result of the food deficit created by the halt on imported goods, people began to lookfor alternative, local food sources. It became commonplace for gardens and shared green spaces to be transformed into small subsistence farms.The techniques that began to be shared around these allotments, of organic cultivation and the recycling of materials, grew out of the genuine requisite of healthy foods.

Although we are far removed from the days of rationing, and the produce available to us is greater and more varied than it has ever been, there seems to be a growing aspiration to return to the types of diet which local seasonal produce has to offer. Of course the problem most of us have with buying organic and local is the price. Without direct access to local farms, their produce is only available to us through a handful of local greengrocers whose prices cant compare with those of the major supermarkets.

In London’s St James’ Park, as part of the Dig For Victory: War On Waste exhibition, a few dedicated gardeners have tried to bring the publics attention to a historically tested solution to this problem. A working allotment, in the style of a those present in wartime England, has been opened to the public to promote awareness of this understated British tradition.

The allotment itself offers a physical message to those who visit it. With its two organic plots side by side, one complete with the typical wartime fare, the other with a more varied contemporary display of produce, the visitor is offered an example of the type of food that has been grown on allotments for half a century and can still be grown today, as well as the possibilities for improving the diversity of crops.

If its visitors have ever stood in the aisle of a busy supermarket puzzling over whether to buy ethically or to spend less, the exhibition offers an alternative solution. Grab your shovel and a pair of gloves and get thee to an allotment; the benefits to your well being, your bank account and your conscience may prove indispensable.

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A report by Natural England states that domestic gardens “make a major contribution to the maintenance of biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services in urban areas.” Native animals such as the common frog, song thrush and hedgehog are found in significant numbers in urban areas and domestic gardens despite their decline in the countryside.

According to the Government Environment Agency, 33% of land in England and Wales is tilled for crops and almost three quarters of the land in England and Wales is used for food production. But these areas are not suitable to support natural habitats for many animals. However, the report claims that Brownfield land “provides secure breeding and feeding areas commonly absent from land under agricultural management.”

Species are also able to “exploit a wide range of niches in the urban environment from buildings to parks, gardens – and previously undeveloped ‘Brownfield land.’” Certain species of bats, such as serotines and pipistrelles, “make use of cavities and internal building voids for hibernation and breeding.”

Previously undeveloped Brownfield sites are now seen to provide vital habitat for many invertebrates too, “the interest in the conservation importance of Brownfield land has grown as many sites have been found to harbour a particularly species-rich invertebrate community including scarce or rare species.”

An overall increase of bird population of 14% between 1994 and 2006 proves that the urban environment is helping them to breed and prosper. ‘Wider Countryside’ butterfly species may now be more likely to be found in suburban areas than in rural areas.

Despite the advantages of urban environments in the sustaining of wildlife, all of Britain’s major environment groups, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the National Trust, believe that Government plans to develop urban areas should take into account and work with the natural environment. William Proby, Chairman of the National Trust, says “we recognise the need for some development and we are doing our bit to encourage new housing developments that can be done in an environmentally sensitive way.” At a 2007 debate, Proby made reference to the erosion of the countryside’s “redeeming, restorative qualities.”

The Government Environment Agency predicts that by 2016, nearly 12% of England’s land will be urbanised, compared to the current figure of 10%.

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