2023 progress report on 30x30 in England

The latest Wildlife & Countryside Link report reveals that the Government has failed to protect significantly more land and sea, improve existing sites, and give nature more legal protection

In 2020, the Government committed to protect at least 30 per cent of land and sea for nature by 2030 (its 30x30 target).

Three years on and with just six years to 2030, nature campaigners have assessed the progress made to date and are revealing that action is falling far short of ambition, with the amount of land and sea protected for nature in 2023 plateauing.

Just 3.11 per cent of land and 8 per cent of English seas are well protected for nature, leaving a huge gap to close to reach 30 per cent by 2030.

New analysis suggests that without major change the Government will miss its landmark pledge to protect 30 per cent of the land and sea for nature.

Three years after the pledge was made (28 September 2020), the charities say Government has made:

• No progress in protecting more of the land and sea for nature
• No progress in improving the condition of existing protected sites
• No progress in policy changes needed to support future improvements

Environmentalists are urging a change in the law to address the fact that nature is often in poorer condition within protected sites compared to nature outside them, with a key Lords vote expected in the Levelling Up Bill.

And nature groups are encouraging the public to sign an open letter calling on political parties to protect 30 per cent of UK land and sea for nature and commit to other ambitious measures to put UK nature on the road to recovery: http://bit.ly/nature_2030

Read the full report here.