The government is “clearly not on course” to deliver its international commitment to protect 30 per cent of England’s land and sea for nature by 2030, peers have found.
The Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee report, published on Wednesday, warned that the government has a mountain to climb if it is to meet the “30 by 30” target agreed at the Montreal Cop15 biodiversity conference in 2022.
The UK has seen 41 per cent of species decrease in abundance since 1970, while 15 per cent of species have been classified as threatened with extinction, according to Government figures.
Peers found that the extent of land protected for nature in England is currently 6.5 per cent, requiring a further area of almost one-and-a-half times the size of Wales to hit the target within the next seven years.
They also found that those protected sites in England, which can include land that has multiple uses, are often in a poor condition and in many cases inadequately monitored.
We are ... calling on the Government to act urgently as it has just seven crucial years to fulfil its nature crisis pledge— Baroness Parminter, Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee
Overall, the committee concluded there is a lack of clarity over how the government plans to achieve “30 by 30” and ministers will need a major step-change in their approach to protected areas.
The report was informed by evidence from the government, academics, farmers, landowners, non-departmental public bodies, organisations, societies and conservation bodies.
While it focused on progress in England alone, the UK committed to “30 by 30” as a whole so peers recognised the need for effective co-ordination with devolved administrations.
They said the evidence received suggests the failings must be tackled by sufficient government funding and private finance and better incentivisation of management as well as effective monitoring to meet clear nature conservation objectives.
They also said citizen science is “an untapped resource” which could support increased monitoring and generate public engagement.
The committee is urging ministers to put in place a management plan, with effective monitoring for protected areas on land based on an up-to date condition assessment which must be updated every six years.
It also recommended expanding the current marine monitoring programme, both inshore and offshore, to develop data that should be made publicly available.
Peers added that the Government should raise public awareness of local protected sites and communicate how people can play a role in protecting them, including unleashing and harnessing citizen science for data collection.
They also urged ministers to place a statutory duty on Natural England to monitor Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and ensure the resulting data is published.
Time is running out to halt species decline and recover nature for the public good— Baroness Parminter, Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee
Baroness Parminter, chairwoman of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, said: “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.”
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?”
Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “Today’s report confirms that the goal of protecting 30 per cent of England for nature remains a distant dot on the horizon.
“An extraordinary challenge like this requires extraordinary leadership, but the government has no credible plan for delivering its promise.
“We’re calling on ministers to reform the management of England’s great landscapes, so they contribute more to nature restoration, and to extend and improve our network of protected wildlife sites.”
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— Defra spokesperson
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said the government is on track to deliver the 30 by 30 commitment.
The spokesperson said: “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.”
