This post is by Dieter Helm CBE, professor at the University of Oxford and fellow of New College, Oxford. He is the independent chair of the Natural Capital Committee.

The decline of Britain’s countryside and wildlife has been meticulously documented by some of the best naturalists in the world. The insects have largely gone, farmland birds have been decimated, and our rivers, uplands and urban green spaces are all in less than a happy state. We can’t turn back the clock, but we can and should do a lot to halt further declines and start to enhance our natural capital. Read more