Greater action, investment and embracing natural solutions are crucial to reversing biodiversity decline by 2030, the five UK statutory nature agencies say in a newly published report.

It marks the first anniversary of the Leader’s Pledge for Nature, which has been signed by over 80 Heads of State from around the world.

Natural England (NE), Natural Resources Wales (NRW), NatureScot, Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) have together launched a new report – Nature Positive 2030 – which sets out how the UK can meet its commitments in the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature, and ensure that nature’s recovery plays a critical role in our path to Net Zero.

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Findings from the joint report shows that achieving nature commitments will deliver huge benefits to human health, well-being and our economy, and will require transformative change across society and in the way we protect, value, use and engage with nature. The Nature Positive 2030 report draws on a wealth of experience and innovation in the UK to present solutions that can be scaled up to achieve change.

The report showcases the importance of utilising natural solutions to tackle climate change, highlighting the essential role of nature in helping us survive our uncertain future, and emphasising that nature’s ability to do so depends upon biodiverse ecosystems that are resilient to the changes ahead. Delaying action for nature will lead to greater economic costs, and increased environmental risks.

The report also stresses the important role of nature in supporting human health and well-being, as demonstrated through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nature Positive 2030 sets out the priority actions and achievable steps for becoming “Nature Positive” – reversing biodiversity decline – by 2030, and concludes that we are currently not on track to becoming nature positive by 2030, but that this aim is achievable. The report recommends nine changes that can be delivered rapidly, by national and local governments, landowners, businesses and others that will have particularly high impacts on reversing biodiversity loss this decade. These are:

• Ensuring wildlife thrives within protected areas on land and at sea.
• Better conserve wildlife habitats outside protected areas, in particular those areas identified as parts of nature networks or as important blue/green infrastructure.
• Investing in habitat restoration and creation to strengthen nature networks that deliver for biodiversity and climate change.
• Ensuring outcomes for nature are integrated in development plans on land and at sea.
• Tackling atmospheric and diffuse water pollution, especially from nitrogen and ammonia.
• Developing the market for green finance.
• Deploying nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation by default.
• Developing the UK’s evidence base so that it is ready to support the larger, transformative changes underway.
• Adopting targets to become nature positive.

The report stresses the need to put our ambitions for nature recovery on the same footing as those for climate change – those individuals, businesses, cities and governments that are striving to become Net Zero need to become nature positive too, including through adopting targets for nature, and taking nature positive actions such as through establishing wildlife habitat on land-holdings and gardens, ensuring nature is enhanced through supply chains, and using the power in our wallets to choose nature-friendly options in what we buy.

The priority actions identified in Nature Positive 2030 are about building a nature-rich future, with restored ecosystems that are more resilient to climate change and provide more benefits to more people.

Natural England chair, Tony Juniper, said:"Nature recovery is within our grasp – we can become Nature Positive by 2030, provided we act now. We need to go high nature and low carbon, tackling the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change together, and today’s publication sets out how we can do this.

"In the past year Heads of State from many countries, including from the UK, have made hugely important commitments to recover nature, in recognition that this is essential to our health, well-being and a sustainable, prosperous economy. Achieving these commitments will require transformative change across society and in the way we protect, value, use and engage with nature. We believe these commitments are achievable and our report shows how we can succeed in becoming Nature Positive by 2030 as an essential milestone on the path to full nature recovery."