Government progress towards nature targets remains largely on paper

Last week the Government published its long-awaited delivery plan for how it intends to protect and restore 30% of land for nature by 2030, as part of a landmark global target known as 30 by 30. Coupled with the release of its latest annual assessment of progress towards England’s environmental targets, this should have been a celebratory moment for nature and climate. But despite the warm words, there was a notable and disappointing lack of commitment to meaningful action. 

In 2022, the UK was instrumental in securing international commitment to 30 by 30 as part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. But we’ve waited four years for a Delivery Plan, and now that we have it – with just four years left to the deadline – the UK Government seems to be stepping away.  

This lacklustre Delivery Plan focuses on movement-building and voluntary public contributions but lacks incentives to see that through, and makes little or no mention of existing statutory duties, levers or mechanisms (e.g. agri-environment schemes) which could be real drivers for delivery.  

Our most important places for wildlife, our protected areas – SSSIs, SPAs, SACs and Ramsar sites – barely get a mention, with no commitment to accelerate condition assessments to understand the current state of these sites, no clear plan for how these sites will be restored, and no mention of new designations. This is despite protected sites being the one part of 30 by 30 delivery that Government and its agencies have in their direct control, making it all the more galling that they are instead risking an approach reliant on voluntary contributions from others.  A lot of emphasis is rightly placed on delivery within Protected Landscapes (our National Parks and National Landscapes) – places that should be cornerstones for nature recovery – yet the opportunity is missed to reiterate Government’s commitment to bring forward new legislation to reform the purposes and governance of these landscapes to strengthen their mandate for nature recovery.  

There are some positives, including a tiered system which recognises and encourages restoration of new sites (silver category) and the value of doing good things for nature across the wider 70% (bronze category), but we remain concerned that the criteria for what ultimately counts (gold category) fail to meet the clear international standards set by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 

Similarly, the Government’s annual progress report looks good on paper. It’s a more detailed report this time and lists some positive actions; both the publication of a Land Use Framework, a tool for making decisions about how to use our finite land, and the publication of some Local Nature Recovery Strategies, which map out potential actions for nature in our local area. These are positive steps, but without incentives, it’s hard to see them as any more than just words on a page.

We’ve seen some positive funding announced for some of our species, but critically progress against the apex target, to halt the decline in our species, continues to go backwards; populations of monitored species have declined on average by about 40% since 1970, and it’s doubly bad for our priority species (those needing targeted conservation action), which declined by about 80% over the same period. There’s even been a marked downturn in monitored species in the short term too. 

With each year that passes, nature is disappearing from England. We’ve already lost some of the experiences our grandparents and even our parents would’ve taken for granted; dawn chorus crescendos, long walks through meadows teeming with wildlife, or the chance to bathe in healthy rivers and seas. Governments have come and gone, meanwhile most of us have seen pressures continue to increase on our health, finances and quality of life. 

The UK loves and needs nature – it’s beautiful, it’s good for us all, underpins absolutely everything that we produce and consume and, as the most recent evidence shows, is vital for our national security and long-term resilience – and yet for years our governments have been presiding over its deterioration.  

A change in Prime Minster offers us a real opportunity to reset priorities. To get us on track, the UK Government must: 

• Safeguard, expand and restore protected sites, the kind with real protections (referred to as SSSIs, SPAs, SACs and Ramsar sites).  
• Align agri-environment schemes with 30 by 30, providing strong incentives for farmers to increase their ambition to bring back wildlife. 
• Require and resource Natural England to fulfil their statutory duties on nature and the environment, including monitoring and enforcement.
• Deliver promised legislative reforms to boost delivery for nature in Protected Landscapes.
• Ensure that impacts on and opportunities for nature are properly considered for all new development.
• Publish the new overdue Green Finance Strategy setting out how public and private finance will combine to deliver our nature commitments and act on it. 

Investing in the restoration of our natural environment would bring enormous benefits up and down the country; from ensuring the resilience and affordability of the services we all rely on – healthy, clean and affordable food and water thanks to clean soils and healthy rivers, to the flood protection that wetlands and woodlands can bring, protecting our homes and businesses. Nature also makes the UK a healthy, happy and beautiful place to live, providing that hope that so many of us need to see and feel.  

The Welsh Government’s approach to 30 by 30 so far – basing it on IUCN guidance, tailoring to the Welsh context, and cracking on with delivery – holds promise and shows that aiming for high standards needn’t be a barrier to delivery.  

Our resilience, health, wealth and happiness depend on our governments grasping what’s at stake, investing in nature recovery and driving change so that words can jump off the page and transform into actions.