The United Kingdom has made an “alarming lack of progress” in meeting the crucial 30×30 nature target

20 October, 2022

According to research, the government’s “dangerous deregulatory program” puts it at risk of not meeting its goal of safeguarding 30 percent of land and sea by the year 2030.

A new study warns that the United Kingdom will fail to meet its crucial ecological pledge to protect 30% of its land and sea by 2030 unless it abandons efforts to deregulate environmental laws.

The United Kingdom is one of more than one hundred nations that have pledged their support to the “30×30” initiative, which aims to prevent the destruction of the natural world. 

Wildlife and Countryside Link, an alliance of environmental groups, did some research and found that only 3.22 percent of the land in England and 8 percent of the water are being managed and protected in a way that helps the natural world (WCL).

Since the government made the pledge in 2020, when it automatically included national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) in its calculations, activists have asserted that there has been an “alarming lack of progress.” Campaigners say this lack of progress has been “very concerning.”

Over the course of the previous year, an additional 0.22% of land in England and 4% of the country’s oceans were placed under protection. This is the case despite the fact that the United Kingdom has been at the forefront of urging other nations to fulfil the 30×30 objective at the COP15 nature summit that will take place in Montreal in December. This is the meeting where the next decade of UN targets will be outlined.

The research said that plans to liberalise planning regulations, eliminate EU environmental safeguards, and scrap measures to encourage nature-friendly farming were all moving England—and the rest of the United Kingdom—down the wrong path. According to what was said in the report, a “deregulatory agenda is being pursued that puts the very core of the 30×30 promise at danger.” “At this pace of advancement, 30×30 will continue to be a promise that cannot be fulfilled since it does not alter the natural condition.”

Craig Bennett, who is the CEO of the Wildlife Trusts, said that this study shows an alarming lack of progress. Pursuing a hazardous strategy of deregulation and diminishing support for environmentally friendly farming would make the way to 30×30 even more difficult, harming our soil health and pollinators, compromising our food security and eradicating sensitive species like hedgehogs and turtle doves.

According to the research, the Habitat Regulations, which are based on EU environmental legislation, ought to form the backbone of 30×30 but are instead being eroded on several fronts. In it, Liz Truss’s proposed legislation to overturn hundreds of EU environmental rules by the end of 2023 is criticised. According to the report, the government’s plans to establish “investment zones” with “liberalised” planning regulations would also result in less protection for the natural environment in such places.

Although the study only focused on England, the United Kingdom as a whole has to meet the 30×30 goal in order for it to be considered successful. In order to do so, the governments of Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland will need to work together.

Richard Benwell, the head of WCL, referred to 30×30 as a “great environmental promise,” and he noted that the government still had the opportunity to take the lead in recovering nature on an international scale. Sadly, the data that we have collected indicates that the government is falling behind in the battle to prevent the deterioration of the environment by the year 2030. At this pace, there is little chance that the government would be able to successfully preserve thirty percent of the land and water for natural purposes by the year 2030.

Swanscombe peninsula, Dearne Valley Wetlands, and Cotswold Water Park are the only three new sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) that have been added by the government since the last report in 2021. These three additions are responsible for the 0.22% increase in the amount of land that is protected. Even though they are among the most significant natural areas in England, just 38 percent of SSSIs are now “in good condition.” In addition, the survey discovered that neither the monitoring nor the administration of pre-existing protected areas had seen any noteworthy advancements.

The research suggests that the government increases the protection afforded to national parks and other areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs), which together account for 28% of the land area in the UK and are included into the government’s efforts to meet the 30×30 goal.

According to the Protected Areas and Nature Recovery study published by the British Ecological Society, the majority of national parks and AONBs in the United Kingdom provide “negligible benefits” for the country’s flora and fauna. This is due to a number of factors, some of which include inefficient agricultural techniques, pollution, and the introduction of animals that are not native to the area. According to the study, wildlife is in a more precarious position since protected areas have been forced to make concessions because of inadequate funding.

The WCL study also said that existing protected sites, such as SSSIs, should be restored into excellent condition with a legally enforceable objective of making sure that 75% of them were in favourable condition by the year 2042. The 75% objective was established in 2018 as a part of the 25-year environment plan; however, it does not have any legal ramifications.

For the sea, there should be the establishment of five highly protected marine area (HPMA) sites, which were recently demarcated in a pilot project. Additionally, other sites should be defined, and by the year 2030, they should cover at least 10% of England’s seas. It is imperative that existing marine protected areas get more attention and that destructive fishing methods, such as bottom trawling, be outlawed.

Chief Executive Officer of the RSPB, Beccy Speight, stated that recent events “would indicate that the UK government may be actually dismantling the fundamental building blocks needed to achieve this target by proposing plans to scrap the laws that protect nature, as well as funding for nature friendly farmers.”

The announcement comes at a time when Truss is being accused of an “assault on nature” by wildlife organisations and former ministers for prioritising economic development while simultaneously ripping away crucial wildlife safeguards in the process of pursuing that growth.

According to a statement made by a spokeswoman for the government, “We are dedicated to ending the degradation of nature by the year 2030 and will not violate our commitments to the environment in pursuit of progress.” Both a healthy ecosystem and a thriving economy go hand in hand together. We have passed legislation in the form of the Environment Act, and we will keep working to enhance our rules, marine safeguards, and wildlife laws in accordance with our expansive vision.