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Halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2020
In 2001, the UK government committed to halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010. Now 2010 is here, and it is widely accepted that although we have made progress towards our goal, overall we have failed.
Our efforts to protect species and habitats have been insufficient: we have failed to halt biodiversity loss.
Species and habitats listed as priorities for conservation action under the UK's Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) have been assessed every three years. The last assessment in 2008 showed that:
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19 priority habitats (42%*) were thought to be declining
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88 priority species (24%*) were thought to be declining
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Eight species have been lost from the UK since 1995.
Of the remaining species and habitats, many were categorised as 'trend unknown,' 'no report received,' 'no clear trend' or 'stable.'
However, the news is not all negative:
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Eight priority habitats (18%) were thought to be increasing
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40 priority species (11%) were thought to be increasing.
This shows that well planned and targeted conservation action can work. We celebrate those species whose fortunes have improved in the past decade, thanks to targeted species recovery work. We have played a leading role in several of these success stories:
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The stone-curlew population has increased from 254 pairs in 2000 to 359 pairs in 2009 due to species protection and green farming schemes
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The cirl bunting population has increased from 114 pairs in 1989 to about 840 pairs in 2009 due to better management of its farmland habitat
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The bittern has boomed from 11 calling males in 1997 to 82 in 2009 due to improved reedbed management and the creation of new habitat.
However, more species have been added to the UK's list of conservation concern than have been removed from the list.
In 2007, the list of UK priority species for conservation action was revised - from 579 to 1150! This was partly due to improved information but primarily because more species' populations were declining.
The UK's biodiversity has been eroding for a long time. A Natural England report, 'Lost Life: England's lost and threatened species,' published in March 2010, revealed that almost 500 species have been lost from England in historic times, most of these in the last two centuries.
An important new target for 2020
European Union governments have pledged to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2020, and also to begin to restore it. We wholeheartedly support this target, and will deliver our own ambitious conservation programmes and press for additional government investments in nature across the UK to enable this target to be met.
Restoring and recreating habitats on a large scale – on a landscape scale – as in our Futurescapes programme, will be vital to meeting UK and European aspirations, and creating a richer quality of life for us all.
Last modified: 02 June 2010