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The Government will fail to meet its 2010 target to halt biodiversity loss, although the target might have been unrealistic. Good progress has been made towards the target in some respects. For example, 80% of Sites of Special Scientific Interest are now in a favourable condition and a number of rare species have recovered. But biodiversity loss continues apace in the wider countryside and many species and habitats continue to face severe declines and local extinctions. Although there are barriers to overcome there is no reason why biodiversity loss could not be halted in England—indeed, with leadership and effective policies, biodiversity loss could be reversed. The Government should adopt a new target for halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2020.
To achieve this the Government will have to go beyond traditional nature conservation policies. It will have to ensure that, wherever possible, biodiversity is protected and enhanced by all departments and policies. There is a compelling economic case for doing this. This approach will be required if biodiversity is to be prevented from declining further due to growing pressure from development and climate change. Therefore we welcome that the Government will now conduct an ecosystem assessment to demonstrate how this approach could be taken forward in practice—particularly as we recommended such an assessment in 2007. This assessment must address continued failures by a number of departments to recognise the importance of biodiversity in their policies. It must also focus on delivery of biodiversity protection at the regional and local scales.
One of the most important contributions that the government could make to halting biodiversity loss would be to provide more support for the UK Overseas Territories, where it is the eleventh hour for many species. Although England has a number of internationally important species and habitats, the biodiversity found in the UK Overseas Territories is equally valuable and at a greater risk of loss. The Government must act now to protect these areas.
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