The Government must set out rules for how land can be classed as protected for nature to meet global environmental commitments, conservationists have warned.
The UK has signed up to global commitments to protect 30% of its land and seas for nature by 2030, known as 30X30, as part of efforts to halt catastrophic declines in wildlife.
But green organisations have warned that the UK has “an embarrassingly poor track record” on protecting and caring for land so that wildlife and habitats thrive, and that progress towards the target has stalled.
They want the Government to set out the criteria under which land can be counted towards the total, and for joined-up monitoring and evidence to show it really is delivering for nature.
The warning comes ahead of the latest round of UN nature talks, where the global 30X30 was agreed two years ago, and in the wake of a report warning global wildlife populations had declined by nearly three quarters in 50 years.
Draft criteria on the 30% target for land in England were published last year, and concluded that 8.5% of land was covered by conservation designations – not including national parks and national landscapes – along with 40% of the seas.
But a recent report from Wildlife and Countryside Link said many sites are not in a good condition or still exposed to harmful activities, with less than 3% of England’s land and just under 10% of its seas effectively conserved for nature.
Reaching the 30% target will involve improving the condition of existing sites, creating new habitat and including areas such as protected landscapes where they are delivering for nature, reserves owned by conservation charities, and private land being restored for nature or farmed in a nature-friendly way.
Under the draft criteria, land could be counted if its purpose or management objectives are shown to deliver positive outcomes for nature, is protected from loss or damage to its wildlife value, and is effectively managed to ensure long-term benefits to biodiversity.
The final approach, originally due to be published in the summer, has not yet been set out.
Conservation groups say they are keen for their land to count towards the total and are calling for the publication of ambitious final criteria.
Katherine Hawkins, nature policy manager at The Wildlife Trusts, said: “The task of protecting much more land and sea – and then actively caring for these places in a way that helps nature to recover – has never been more urgent.
“The UK has an embarrassingly poor track record and it’s been largely left to charities to restore natural habitats across large areas of land.”
She said the Wildlife Trusts cared for 2,600 nature reserves across 100,000 hectares in the UK, and would like “these special places” to count towards the target.
“The UK Government needs to let us know how it intends to apply rigorous standards to measuring what counts, so that we know how much more land needs to be earmarked for nature.”
And she said: “It’s vital that we aim high to meet ambitious international targets that ensure wildlife is protected for the long term – otherwise there’s a risk that the wrong areas of land will get counted and there’ll be little gain for nature.”
The RSPB’s head of site policy, Kate Jennings said “The UK has just five years to protect 30% of land and sea, but progress has stalled,” warning that while the charity was eager to contribute, a failure to publish final criteria was leaving efforts in limbo.
“Clear international guidelines exist, yet without robust, agreed criteria, crucial areas can’t be assessed or submitted,” she added.
“The new Government needs to release these criteria and align with global standards to drive real change for our nature,” she said, adding there was a need for a detailed delivery plan to back it up.
The National Trust, which owns 250,000 hectares of land in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, including swathes of national parks, natural habitat and farmed land, said areas making up the 30% had to be effectively monitored and show evidence they were delivering for nature.
Ben McCarthy, head of nature conservation and restoration ecology at the trust, said: “It’s really important it doesn’t become an administrative, bureaucratic process, and that we’ve got confidence the land which is included in this target is doing what it says on the tin and delivers nature’s recovery because it’s being effectively managed.”
He said land ranging from national parks, which need to be supported to deliver for nature, through to large scale landscape recovery schemes and nature-friendly farming “could and should be contributing” but they needed to evidence their contribution.
An Environment Department (Defra) spokesperson said: “Britain is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Half of our bird species and a quarter of our mammal species are at risk of extinction. Our precious National Parks and National Landscapes are in decline. Our rivers, lakes and seas are awash with toxic sewage and pollution.
“We feel this destruction of nature wherever we live. Fewer birds in the garden, more of our land under water, people getting sick after swimming in our lakes and sea.
“It’s why this Government has launched a rapid review to deliver on our legally binding environment targets, including how we can accelerate progress to hitting our international commitments of protecting 30% of the UK’s land and sea by 2030.”
