Last November, while the eyes of the world were on the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, the UK Government passed the first Environment Act in almost 30 years. The Government said that the new Act would “set an example for the rest of the world to follow” and enhance our environment for future generations.

The Act promises to set legally binding targets for the first time to improve biodiversity, clean up our rivers, and reduce air and waste pollution. Six months on and the Government have finally published the detail on what these targets will be – and are asking for the public’s feedback.

The Government’s headline promise is to halt wildlife decline by 2030. But it cannot be enough to simply ‘halt decline’ – after we have lost so much, we need to start putting nature into recovery. It is here where the Government’s ambition falls far too short. For the past 50 years, habitat loss has led to a drastic decline in nature. Wildlife populations are the lowest they have ever been, and once common species could be lost forever. Current UK Government plans would mean less nature in England in 20 years' time. 

This would be a big climb down from the Government’s promise when the Act passed to ensure it enhanced our environment for future generations and would cast a gloomy picture if a “world-leading” target aimed for us to have less nature in two decades’ time.

The wildlife we have in the UK is incredible, with species found nowhere else on Earth. But pressure on these diverse and special species means we are losing more nature every year. Millions of skylarks that herald the spring dawn have been lost from our countryside, unique and rare butterflies have disappeared from our woodlands, the abundance of hedgehogs in our gardens is plummeting, and iconic species such as the water vole are now endangered.

This dramatic loss of nature has serious implications for our health, our ability to tackle climate change and grow food, and for our economy. The bottom line is: we need nature to survive.

To turn this around we need the Government to aim for a truly ‘world-leading’ target. One that will return the skylark’s song to our skies, the butterflies’ brilliant colour to our woodland gales, and bring back our iconic wildlife – from The Wind in the Willows’ Ratty to Beatrix Potter’s Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.

We need the Government to aim for a target that will leave the next generation with more nature – not less.