Nature protection advice ‘ignored’

The Government ignored advice from Natural England that said it had to triple its ambitions to create new habitats to meet biodiversity commitments, documents suggest.

Advisers said that to meet the internationally agreed pledge of protecting 30 per cent of land by 2030, around 1.5million hectares of habitats in England “need better protection and improved conservation management”. Instead, the Government said it would aim for 500,000 hectares by 2042.

In documents obtained by Unearthed, a team of journalists at Greenpeace, Natural England said the 500,000 target was not enough to stop the decline of nature and that it should be raised to a minimum of 750,000.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment said the targets were established through intensive consultation with businesses, land managers and environmental groups including Natural England.*