Window to stop decline of England’s nature closing fast, watchdog says

The OEP found coastal waters were likely to miss their target of being in good ecological status because of pressures including overfishing. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Oceana/PA

The window to stop the decline of England’s nature is swiftly closing, the environmental watchdog has said, as its latest report finds that the government is falling short on most of its targets to improve the environment.

Some of Labour’s actions, however, including setting up a water commission and writing a new environmental improvement plan, were praised by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) in its annual review of how the government was meeting the legally binding environment targets.