Over six months have passed since the landmark Environment Act was enacted – the first dedicated environmental legislation for nearly 30 years and the first time England has set legally binding targets for nature’s recovery.
It is only now that the details of these targets are being discussed and a consultation is due to close on 27th June to assess how ambitious these targets will be. It’s crunch time for nature.
Unfortunately, the long-term target currently being proposed for nature’s recovery aims to have just 10% more nature in 2042 than 2030 levels – by which time the state of our natural world is expected to have declined even further.
This could mean that wildlife is less abundant by 2042 than it is now, after another decade of decline, and clearly falls short of the UK Government’s promise to pass on nature in better condition.
UK nature is already in dire straits. This country is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world: 41% of species are in decline and 15% at risk of extinction. It’s hardly surprising when you consider that 97% of lowland meadows – home to wildflowers, mammals and birds – have disappeared, as have 80% of heathlands – and rivers are in deep trouble too.
Kent is no exception. Kent Wildlife Trust’s latest Bugs Matter survey revealed a worrying decline of over 70% in flying insect abundance in Kent between 2004 and 2021. Further, many of Kent’s Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) – protected conservation sites – are in non-favourable conditions. For years, Kent Wildlife Trust has implemented species and habitat recovery plans across the county, from introducing ecosystem engineers like European bison to restore nature woodland management to campaigning against a theme park development that would destroy over 70 hectares of protected habitat on the Thames Estuary. Now, at a time more crucial than ever, we need the government’s policies to align with the ambition needed.
The new target that the UK Government has proposed is too weak and unambitious: England would have even less wildlife in 20 years’ time than the much-depleted state that we have now.
Paul Hadaway, Director of Conservation at Kent Wildlife Trust says: “At a time when we need to trigger a decade of nature restoration by setting high standards for the proposed Environment Act targets, current proposals mean that the UK Government’s clear commitment to leave the environment in a better state of the next generation is in jeopardy. We’re urging everyone to sign our petition calling for stronger targets to put nature on the path to recovery before the situation gets even worse.”
Read The Wildlife Trusts’ briefing on the Nature Recovery Green Paper and Environment Act target consultations here.
The Wildlife Trusts have begun a campaign to rally public support for stronger targets to help nature recover here: wildlifetrusts.org/nature-deserves-better. Join over 670 people who have already signed the petition in Kent.