How much of England is protected for nature? Report shows government may fail to meet 2030 target

The new report highlights what the government needs to do in order to restore and protect nature in the UK
The Government is making ‘little progress’ in protecting land for nature
Dan Istitene/Getty Images
Seren Morris27 July 2023

A new report has been published by the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee on restoring 30% of land and sea by 2030.

It includes the committee’s findings and recommendations following its inquiry into the current state of protected areas in England. The report also warns that the Government needs to make a major step change in its approach to protected areas to deliver the 30 by 30 commitment it made at the Cop15 biodiversity conference in 2022.

The Government pledged to protect at least 30 per cent of land and sea in England by 2030, as part of the 30x30 pledge.

However, the committee has said the Government is ‘clearly not on course’ to deliver its international commitment to protect 30% of England’s land and sea for nature by 2030.

Baroness Parminter, chairwoman of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, explained: “Our report makes it clear that the government faces a huge challenge to meet the ‘30 by 30’ target it signed up to last year.

“The government must designate more areas to be protected, meeting international criteria, and manage and monitor all protected areas better to achieve favourable condition. Time is running out to halt species decline and recover nature for the public good.

“We are therefore calling on the government to act urgently as it has just seven crucial years to fulfil its nature crisis pledge.”

Meanwhile, according to the Independent, a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson has said the government is on track to deliver the 30 by 30 commitment: “Delivering this commitment for England will ensure our most important natural sites have the long-term, effective management needed for biodiversity to thrive.

“We are already going further and faster for nature than any other government before, with our Environmental Improvement Plan and the inclusion of legally binding targets in the Environment Act.”

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How much of England is protected for nature?

Only 6.5 per cent of England is effectively protected for nature.

There are 225 national nature reserves in England. In total, they have an area of 98,600 hectares, which is around 0.7 per cent of the country’s land surface.

A WCL report said that the amount of land designated to new Sites of Special Scientific Interest in England has only increased by 0.22 per cent and the amount of protected sea has increased by four per cent, since 2021.

Joan Edwards, director of policy for The Wildlife Trusts, said: “The longer we leave it, the harder and more expensive it will be to reverse wildlife declines.

“Government signed up to legally binding targets for nature’s recovery yet appears intent on casually kicking the can down the road. How many species need to go extinct before it finally wakes up?”

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