Tag Archives: 30 by 30

A legal target to restore England’s protected sites could be transformative for nature

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This post is by Professor Sir John Lawton CBE FRS, chair of the Making space for nature panel.

“There are twenty-seven ancient cathedrals in England. Imagine the outrage that would have ensued in this country if over the last 100 years, twelve had been partly demolished, nine substantially demolished, and three completely obliterated; only three would remain in good condition. Yet this is precisely what has happened to many of England’s finest wildlife sites.”

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Exmoor is showing what a 21st century National Park can look like

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This post is by Tony Whitehead, England communications manager for RSPB.  

In September last year, Boris Johnson committed to protecting 30 per cent of the UK’s land for nature by 2030. The government statement that accompanied his announcement gave details of just what this entails, it said:  

“Existing National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and other protected areas already comprise approximately 26 per cent of land in England. An additional 4 per cent – over 400,000 hectares, the size of the Lake District and South Downs national parks combined – will be protected to support the recovery of nature.”  

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There’s a reality gap in the government’s promise to protect 30 per cent of land for nature

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This post is by Kate Jennings, head of sites and species policy at the RSPB.

A new peer reviewed paper, published today, looking at the state of protected areas across the UK concludes that, instead of the 28 per cent claimed by the UK government, as little as 11.9 per cent of the UK’s land area is protected for nature, and that less than half of that may be effectively protected for nature. In 2022, governments from around the world will come together to commit to a new set of global targets for nature under the Convention on Biological Diversity. True to its stated appetite to be a “world leader for nature” the UK has already committed to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity and to protect 30 per cent of land and sea for nature’s recovery by 2030 (‘30 by 30’), a target that is set to feature in the new global agreement.

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