UK shows ‘alarming lack of progress’ in hitting vital 30x30 nature target

The UK will miss its key nature pledge to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 unless it scraps plans to deregulate environmental protections, a new report has warned.

The UK is one of more than 100 countries committed to protecting “30x30” as a way to halt the destruction of the natural world. However, just 3.22% of land in England and 8% of the sea is being properly protected and managed for nature, according to the report from the environmental charities coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL).

Campaigners say there has been an “alarming lack of progress” since the government made the pledge in 2020, when it automatically included national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) in its calculations.

In the past year, just another 0.22% more land in England has been protected and another 4% more of the sea. This is despite the UK leading calls for other countries to meet the 30x30 target at the Cop15 nature meeting in Montreal this December, where the next decade of UN targets will be drawn up.

Plans to liberalise planning laws, repeal EU environmental protections and scrap legislation to promote nature-friendly farming were pushing England – and the rest of the UK – in the wrong direction, the report said. A “deregulatory agenda is being pursued that puts the very heart of the 30x30 commitment at risk”, it said. “At this rate of progress, 30x30 will remain an empty promise that does not change the state of nature.”

Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, said: “This report shows an alarming lack of progress. Pursuing a dangerous agenda of deregulation and weakening support for nature-friendly farming will make the path to 30x30 even harder, threatening our soil health and pollinators, undermining our food security, and wiping out vulnerable species, like hedgehogs and turtle doves.”

The report said the Habitats Regulations, which derive from EU environment law, should be the backbone of 30x30 but were being undermined on multiple fronts. It criticises plans by Liz Truss to repeal hundreds of EU environment laws by the end of 2023. Government proposals to create “investment zones” with “liberalised” planning laws would also result in weaker nature protection in those areas, it said.

While the analysis looked at England alone, the UK needs to achieve 30x30 as a single entity, so requires the cooperation of governments in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland to reach the target.

Richard Benwell, head of WCL, said 30x30 was a “brilliant environmental promise and the government still has the chance to set an international lead in restoring nature. Unfortunately, our figures show that in the race to halt nature’s decline by 2030, the government is limping backwards. At this rate, the government’s prospects of effectively protecting 30% of the land and sea for nature by 2030 are vanishing.”

Since the last report in 2021, the government has added just three new sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) – Swanscombe peninsula, Dearne Valley Wetlands and Cotswold Water Park – which account for the 0.22% increase in protected land. SSSIs are among the most important nature sites in England but only 38% are “in favourable condition”. The report also found there has been no significant improvement in the monitoring or management of existing protected areas.

The report recommends the government strengthen protection of national parks and AONBs, which cover 28% of UK land and which the government includes in its calculations to reach the 30x30 target.

However, most UK national parks and AONBs provide “negligible benefits” for wildlife, according to the British Ecological Society’s Protected Areas and Nature Recovery report. The reasons for this include poor farming practices, pollution and the spread of non-native species. The report said protected areas were underfunded and as a result had had to make compromises that leave wildlife worse off.

Related: What is Cop15 and why does it matter for all life on Earth?

The WCL report also said existing protected sites, including SSSIs, should be brought into good condition with a legally binding target to make sure 75% of them were in favourable condition by 2042. The 75% target was made in 2018 as part of the 25-year environment plan, but it is not legally binding.

For the sea, five highly protected marine area (HPMA) sites recently earmarked in a pilot project should be created, and more need to be designated so they cover at least 10% of England’s seas by 2030. Existing marine protected areas should be improved and damaging practices such as bottom trawling should be banned.

Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, said: “Recent events would indicate that the UK government may be actually dismantling the fundamental building blocks needed to achieve this target by proposing plans to scrap the laws that protect nature, and funding for nature friendly farmers.”

The news comes as Truss is accused by wildlife charities and former ministers of an “attack on nature” by prioritising economic growth and tearing up important wildlife protections in doing so.

A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to halting the decline of nature by 2030 and will not undermine our obligations to the environment in pursuit of growth. A strong environment and a strong economy go hand in hand. We have legislated through the Environment Act and will continue to improve our regulations, marine protections and wildlife laws in line with our ambitious vision.”