The UK government's long-awaited plan to protect and restore nature in England by 2030 has been condemned as 'pathetic' and 'completely insufficient' by critics, who accuse ministers of failing to take control of the nature crisis and leaving it to private landowners to act voluntarily.
Voluntary approach under fire
The strategy, published on Monday, calls for landowners to voluntarily opt to protect and enhance nature rather than creating legal protections across more of the country's land. Ministers said the plan would accelerate action to meet an international commitment to restore 30% of nature by 2030, a target made by more than 100 countries during the Cop15 negotiations in Montreal in 2022.
However, with only four years to go, the government is far from the target. Its analysis shows that just 7% of land in England currently meets the '30by30' criteria. The new plan identifies land covering about 32% of England that is either already likely to or has the potential to contribute to the goal, but it acknowledges that reaching the target will require a 'step change in ambition, coordination and delivery'.
Critics speak out
Nature writer Guy Shrubsole described the plan as 'pathetic', saying it reflects the failed politics of the past 40 years. 'In the dying days of [Keir] Starmer's government, ministers have admitted they're failing utterly to meet their own target to restore nature in England. So instead of an actual plan with fresh policies, they've issued this desperate plea asking landowners to voluntarily protect nature,' he said.
Shrubsole called for the new government under Andy Burnham's leadership to scrap the plan and take radical action, including legally protecting much more land for nature, giving national parks and the Forestry Commission a legal duty for nature recovery, and funding habitat restoration through more landscape recovery projects.
The RSPB said the strategy was 'deeply disappointing and completely insufficient'.
Church of England debate
Meanwhile, the Church of England, one of the country's biggest landowners, is preparing to vote on Tuesday on a motion to rewild 30% of its land by 2030. Currently, only 3.5% of the church's land is used for nature restoration. The Rev Canon Val Plumb, who introduced the private motion, said the country's land was 'crying and dying out for liberation'. 'As humans and Christians, we have an honourable calling to protect creation,' she added.
However, not everyone in the church agrees. William Nye, secretary general of the archbishops' council, argued the motion is inconsistent with the church's legal obligations and responsibility to ensure 'long-term capital growth'. The financier and environmentalist Ben Goldsmith dismissed this view, saying: 'There is a whole slew of revenues you can get now from nature that weren't there five or 10 years ago.'
Land ownership challenges
Environmentalist and TV presenter Chris Packham highlighted a key reason for slow progress: access to land. '50% of the land is owned by 1% of the people. So as a consequence of that, we've always struggled to be able to access or afford land for any nature conservation purposes,' he said. 'The church owns a significant amount of tenanted land which is given over to industrial farming. We feel it's responsible in this time of crisis for them to rewild a proportion of that land.'
The Church Commissioners, which manages the church's endowment fund, argues that its current approach to managing farmland is consistent with legal duties. However, a legal opinion commissioned by the campaign group Wild Card, by Prof Mark Hill KC, found that the church is legally free to restore 30% of its land. Hill wrote: 'It is to be hoped that the commissioners will revisit their current policies and implement the 30by30 target as a matter of expedition without the need for litigation. It is both an ecological and a doctrinal imperative.'
In response, the Church Commissioners said that while 30by30 is an 'important national target', it relates to conservation. 'Because of the nature of our land, our efforts primarily focus on sustainable farming, forestry, renewable energy and thriving communities,' it said.
