A coalition of over 80 nature conservation groups is initiating a legal challenge to compel the new UK government to enhance its targets for addressing wildlife decline in England.
Currently, one in six UK species faces the risk of extinction. In response, the previous Conservative government established a legally binding target to halt nature loss by 2030. However, major conservation organisations, including the National Trust, the RSPB, and the Wildlife Trusts, are now urging politicians from all parties to commit to more robust actions to enhance biodiversity.
All major political parties have expressed their commitment to halting species decline by 2030. Labour has introduced a new “countryside protection plan” aimed at boosting species recovery. The Conservatives have also stated they have clear policies to protect the countryside. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have pledged to double the amount of land protected for nature by 2050.
Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of 83 environmental groups, is seeking a judicial review over what it claims is the government’s failure to review and improve existing targets for England as outlined in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).
In January, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), an independent watchdog, reported that the government was “largely off track” on its environmental goals, with only four of 40 targets for England likely to be met.
Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said it was “time for the culture of non-compliance with environmental law to end”.
He said, “There’s been a long-term decline in wildlife and we’ve seen no sign that the policies in place right now are going to be able to halt and reverse that decline.”
He continued that the new government needed to “step up and make the investment, the legal changes and take the action necessary to really start to turn things around.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it could not comment, noting that the secretary of state is not legally required to review the EIP until the end of January 2028.
Environmental target setting, including halting species decline, is a devolved matter, with all four UK nations committed to protecting 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. Nevertheless, leaders of some of the UK’s largest conservation groups are calling on all parties to take stronger actions.
Hilary McGrady, the National Trust’s director general, said of the 2030 target to halt nature loss: “Six years from that deadline, the UK is still one of the most nature-depleted countries on earth.”
But, she added, if the next government acted “promptly and energetically” the decline could be reversed.
“We feel passionately that the nature crisis is of such an extent that none of the political parties as it stands at the moment are taking the challenge seriously and so we are here to really ask them to think about that and show us their response,” she said.
Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, expressed frustration with the “lacklustre efforts” to meet legal targets.
Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, said: “We need all political parties to tackle the nature and climate crisis as one.”
A spokesperson for the Conservatives said they had a “clear plan to protect our countryside”.
“We will protect 30 per cent of UK’s land by 2030, and build on our record of creating of 100 Marine Protected Areas, new habitats the size of Dorset, and requiring new developments to have at least 10 per cent more biodiversity,” he said.
He referenced the 25-Year Environment Plan’s aims, which include creating 500,000 more hectares of wildlife habitat, planting 40 million trees, and restoring 35,000 hectares of peatland in England through the £640m Nature for Climate Fund.
Labour’s countryside protection plan outlines policies intended to counteract nature decline. These include creating more “nature-rich habitats” such as wetlands and peat bogs, securing private finance to establish three new national forests in England, and setting up a tree-planting taskforce.
Labour also plans to introduce a new Community Right to Buy to transform derelict land into green spaces and halt the temporary approval of harmful neonicotinoids.
Labour’s shadow environment secretary, Steve Reed, said: “The next Labour government will protect and restore nature, safeguarding our beautiful countryside for future generations to experience and enjoy.”
The Liberal Democrats have promised to double the land protected and managed for nature by 2050, emphasising their “credible policies.”
Tim Farron, the party’s spokesperson for the environment, said: “We need to double the amount of land that is protected and managed for nature, doubling the most important habitats, and importantly doubling the species in these areas.”
However, detailed budgeting for the parties’ plans have yet to be produced.
Plaid Cymru advocates for increased public investment to manage land, restore habitats, and support nature policies. The SNP has reiterated its commitment to halting biodiversity loss by 2030.
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