The UK will miss a key conservation pledge to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 unless it rolls back plans to deregulate environmental protection, a new report warns.
The UK is one of over 100 countries committed to ’30×30′ conservation as a way to stop the destruction of the natural world. However, according to a report by the environmental charity Wildlife and Countryside Links (WCL), only 3.22% of her land and 8% of the sea in England are adequately protected and managed for nature.
Campaigners say there has been an “an alarming lack of progress” since the government made its 2020 pledge. The pledge automatically included national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in the calculation.
Over the past year, England’s protected land has increased by a further 0.22% and the sea by a further 4%. This is despite a UK-led call at the Cop15 nature conference in Montreal this December to encourage other countries to meet her 30×30 target.
Plans to liberalize planning laws, scrap EU environmental protections and remove laws to promote nature-friendly agriculture are pushing England and the rest of the UK in the wrong direction, report says Stated. “A deregulatory agenda is being pursued, which he jeopardizes at the heart of the 30×30 commitment,” he said. “At this rate of progress, 30×30 remains an empty promise that will not change the state of nature.”
Wildlife Trust Chief Executive Officer Craig Bennett said: “This report shows a startling lack of progress. Pursuing a dangerous agenda of deregulation and undermining support for nature-friendly agriculture will make the 30×30 path even more difficult and reduce soil health. and pollinators, undermine food security, and wipe out vulnerable species such as hedgehogs and turtledoves.”
The report said the habitat regulation, derived from EU environmental law, should be the backbone of the 30×30 but is weakened in several ways. It criticizes Liz Truss’ plan to repeal hundreds of EU environmental laws by the end of 2023. He also said the government’s proposal to create “investment areas” with “liberalized” planning laws would undermine nature conservation in those areas.
Although the analysis focused only on England, the UK needs to achieve 30×30 as a single entity, so the cooperation of the governments of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland is required to reach the target.
WCL Director Richard Benwell said 30×30 is a “great environmental promise and governments still have an opportunity to take the lead in international restoration. Our figures show that governments are backing down in the race to halt the decline of the world economy, with the government’s forecast to effectively conserve 30% of land and sea by 2030. is disappearing.”
Swanscombe Peninsula, Dearne Valley Wetlands and Cotswold Water Park, only three sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) have been added by the government since the last report in 2021, representing a 0.22% increase in protected land doing. The SSSI is one of England’s most important natural sites, but only 38% are in ‘good condition’. The report also found no significant improvement in the monitoring and management of existing protected areas.
The report recommends that the government step up the protection of national parks and AONBs, which cover 28% of the UK’s land and are included in the government’s calculations to reach its 30×30 target.
However, according to the Ecological Society of Britain’s Protected Areas and Restoration Report, most UK national parks and AONBs provide a “trivial benefit” to wildlife. Reasons include poor agricultural practices, pollution, and the prevalence of invasive species. The report says the reserve was underfunded and had to make compromises that worsened wildlife as a result.
The WCL report also states that existing protected areas, including SSSI, will be in good standing with a legally-binding target of 75% of protected areas in good health by 2042. said there is a need. -Annual Environmental Plan, but not legally binding.
For the sea, a pilot project should create five recently designated Highly Protected Marine Area (HPMA) sites, with a further designation to cover at least 10% of England’s sea by 2030. is needed. Existing marine protected areas should be improved and harmful practices such as bottom trawling should be banned.
RSPB Chief Executive Officer Beccy Speight said: “Recent events have shown that the UK government is actually implementing the basic building blocks needed to achieve this goal by proposing plans to repeal laws that protect nature and by funding nature-friendly farmers. It indicates that there is a possibility that it has been disassembled. ”
The news comes at a time when the Truss has been accused by wildlife charities and former ministers of being an “attack on nature” by prioritizing economic growth and destroying critical wildlife conservation. rice field.
A government spokesman said: A strong environment and a strong economy go hand in hand. We legislate through environmental law and will continue to improve regulation, marine conservation and wildlife law in line with our ambitious vision. ”
