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A coalition of more than 80 nature conservation groups is launching a legal bid to force whichever party is in power next month to improve government targets on tackling wildlife decline in England.<\/p>\n
One in six UK species are currently at risk of extinction and a legally-binding target was set by the Conservative government to stop nature loss by 2030.<\/p>\n
Organisations including the National Trust, the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts have also joined forces to urge politicians from all parties to pledge to do more to boost biodiversity.<\/p>\n
The main political parties have committed to halt species decline by 2030.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Malcolm Prior\/BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nRichard Benwell, of Wildlife and Countryside Link, wants government nature targets to be reviewed<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
On Friday, Labour launched a new “countryside protection plan” that it says will boost species recovery. <\/p>\n
The Conservatives have committed to protecting a minimum of 30% of land and sea for biodiversity by 2030.<\/p>\n
The Liberal Democrats say they will double the amount of land protected for nature by 2050.<\/p>\n
Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of 83 environmental groups, wants a judicial review of what it claims is a government failure to review and improve existing targets for England, as set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).<\/p>\n
In January, the independent watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), said the government was \u201clargely off track\u201d on meeting its environmental aims, with only four of 40 targets for England likely to be achieved.<\/p>\n
Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said it was \u201ctime for the culture of non-compliance with environmental law to end\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe turtle dove is just one of the UK’s iconic species facing an uncertain future<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
He told the BBC: \u201cThere\u2019s been a long-term decline in wildlife and we\u2019ve seen no sign that the policies in place right now are going to be able to halt and reverse that decline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need whoever forms the next government to step up and make the investment, the legal changes and take the action necessary to really start to turn things around.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it was unable to comment on any legal action.<\/p>\n
But she added that the secretary of state was not legally required to complete a review of the EIP until the end of January 2028.<\/p>\n
The setting of environmental targets on halting the decline of species abundance is a devolved issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Malcolm Prior\/BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Wildlife Trusts, the National Trust and the RSPB are calling on all parties to tackle nature decline<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
All four of the nations\u2019 administrations have committed to protecting 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030.<\/p>\n
But the heads of some of the UK\u2019s largest conservation groups have come together to urge UK general election candidates from all parties to do more.<\/p>\n
Hilary McGrady, the National Trust\u2019s director general, said of the 2030 target to halt nature loss: \u201cSix years from that deadline, the UK is still one of the most nature-depleted countries on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, she added, if the next government acted \u201cpromptly and energetically\u201d the decline could be reversed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d she told the BBC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThere is a UK-wide commitment to protecting 30% of land for nature<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said they had been frustrated by \u201clacklustre efforts\u201d to meet the legal targets set.<\/p>\n
Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, said: \u201cWe need all political parties to tackle the nature and climate crisis as one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whilst in government, the Conservatives committed to leaving the environment in a better state than it was and introduced Environmental Improvement Plan targets to reverse nature decline.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Labour launched a new countryside protection plan, which includes a range of policies which it says will tackle nature decline.<\/p>\n
The party says it will create more “nature-rich habitats”, including wetlands and peat bogs, as well as finding private finance to establish three new national forests in England. It also intends to set up a tree-planting taskforce to grow millions more trees across the UK.<\/p>\n
It will also introduce a new Community Right to Buy to help groups transform derelict land into new green spaces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n