Professor Sir John Lawton, renowned ecologist and author of the 'Making Space for Nature' report and the UK's National Landscapes are calling on Government to invest in nature and take a landscape-based approach to conservation if the UK is to meet its 30 by 30 nature targets.

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In 2022, government committed to the UN Leaders' Pledge for Nature – to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. After the recent announcement by Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, of an additional £15m into protected landscapes and plans for a new National Park, Sir John urges caution on how their contribution to international targets is measured. Protected areas in the UK do need to be expanded ambitiously, but they must also be resourced to deliver, protected more effectively and a landscape scale approach must be adopted to have genuine and long-lasting impacts for nature.

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Sir John Lawton says:

"The 2010 Making Space for Nature report, I called for more, bigger, better and joined up spaces to be allocated and protected for nature to address the nature crisis. Its recommendations still hold true, but the urgency to respond increases with every passing day.

"National Landscapes cover some 14% of England's land area, and the National Parks cover around 8%. It's tempting to suggest we're not far off 30% already, but designating land for the public good doesn't automatically mean that land is protected for nature. Landscape scale delivery is what makes the real difference and I urge Government not to focus on hitting the target while missing the point. If we don't take a landscape scale approach, with the funding to match the ambition, we are letting nature down, and failing to deliver for nature is ultimately the death knell for humanity too."

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The UK's National Landscapes are ideally positioned to address the environmental issues the nation is facing, but despite England's 34 National Landscapes covering double the land area, welcoming double the number of visitors per year and being much closer to centres of urban population (within 30 minutes journey time for 66% of the population), the 10 National Parks still receive more than seven times the funding.

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John Watkins, Chief Executive of the National Landscapes Association says:

"Government's decision to protect more of the nation's landscapes is a welcome one. National Landscapes are living, working places and we have a vision to be the leading exemplars of how thriving, diverse communities can work with and for nature in the UK: restoring ecosystems, providing food, storing carbon to mitigate the effects of climate change, safeguarding against drought and flooding, whilst also nurturing people's health and wellbeing. To realise this vision, business-as-usual is not enough, the UK needs to pivot to long-term sustainable funding for nature protection, and fund protected areas according to their real value to people and society."

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