It calls for an increase in marine protected areas to 20% of marine areas with appropriate management measures and monitoring, and a further 10% increase in high-level protected areas (HMPAs). The government has proposed several pilot HPMAs, such as the Lindisfarne coast in Northumberland and Dolphin Head in the English Channel, but it is unclear how many sites will be designated.
destroyed
Little progress has been made in protecting nature and is being undermined by current government deregulation, dubbed by NGOs as an “attack on nature”.
This includes plans to roll back hundreds of laws that protect wildlife and ensure standards for water quality, pollution and pesticide use; announcing the creation of “investment zones” where planning applications will be exempt from most environmental regulations; ELMS) to review programs that reward farmers for restoring nature and preventing pollution from entering rivers.
Speaking at an event launching the report, RSPB chief executive Beccy Speight noted that the UK is a so-called “The Ambition Alliance of Nature and Man“Therefore, there is a need to set an example for other countries at COP15, the upcoming UN Nature Talks in Montreal in December, aimed at reaching a new Nature Agreement, including a 30×30 target.
Wildlife Trust chief executive Craig Bennett said the UK needed a clear project plan to achieve the 30×30 target, with medium-term targets in the process. “Instead, we are seeing this attack on nature. The whole government narrative is so backwards, so disappointing. We need to have a smarter conversation about growth in this country.”
In addition, he said there was “no doubt” a move within the government, including ministers and officials, to move away from science-based decision-making to more political ones, such as the designation of protected areas and species. He said it would be the next “attack on nature” and environmental groups needed to pay attention.
suboptimal
Lord Benyon, the government minister for the International Environment Department, which includes the 30×30 target, also spoke at the event, acknowledging that the government’s information on examining issues such as agricultural support was “poor”.
“I couldn’t be clearer that we will not go back to a system like the EU Common Agricultural Policy that is so damaging to the environment,” he said.
“New governments come and go. The ELMS is here to stay, it will and should continue to be modified, and if done right, it can transform agriculture,” he said.
Fears of losing EU law were also unfounded, he added. “If we were going to have less or no regulation, I wouldn’t be in the job,” he said, adding that some regulation would be “cut and pasted” into UK law.
this author
Catherine Early is a freelance environmental reporter and lead reporter ecologist. she is on twitter @Cat_Early76.
