The UK has seen a dramatic decline in biodiversity since 1945. Environmental legislation has mitigated some specific problems, including the recovery of some species. However, the trend of biodiversity decline continues. In recent years, both statutory and voluntary bodies have undertaken numerous initiatives to counteract the loss of biodiversity. This article is a brief introduction to the limitations of the underfunded measures taken so far.
Reduced to ghosts: the decline of key environmental bodies
When it comes to tackling climate and ecological catastrophe in the UK, one might expect national statutory bodies and local councils to play a leading role. The focus here is on England, as the other parts of the UK cover much of their own environmental policy. Government and local councils have been hit by austerity measures for years. Examples include:
- The Environment Agency had its spending cut by 50% from 2012 to 2022.
- Natural England (NE) had spending cuts of 63% for the period 2009-2020, using Natural England’s own figures, which are higher than some quoted estimates. Guy Shrubsole believes that government cuts before the 2024 general election almost destroyed NE.
- Local Government in England lost about 22.5% of its spending power between 2010 and 2019.
To give a snapshot of what these cuts could mean, Dr Judy Webb, of Friends of Lye Valley in Oxford, comments:
“Lye Valley’s Responsible Officer (RO) in NE (Morgan Smith) is now responsible for every single Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Oxfordshire. Of the 111 sites in Oxon, some are geological, so there are 84 biological SSSIs, few in favourable condition.
“This number is an impossible load for any one person, as there are farm agreements to oversee as well. Morgan’s predecessor, Alison Muldal, was responsible for only 20 SSSIs, and she was the one who had the time to achieve all the grant funding for the tree work and ditch blocking essential for the restoration of the South fen section of Lye Valley SSSI.
“We had an annual NE grant for re-pollarding of shading crack willows there, but then that stopped with the cuts and the SSSI load on the replacement officer vastly increased. So, he [Morgan] only really has time to deal with emergency issues like planning applications which could affect SSSIs.”
There appears to be no prospect of this type of problem being alleviated by the current government, despite the need for the institutions listed above to help deliver government policy.
If it were not for volunteers, the situation would be even worse. In March 2025, criticism of the government’s environmental policy even led to DEFRA actually asking larger landowners to draw up nature restoration plans.
Amid this policy vacuum, decisions around housing development further complicate biodiversity efforts. Considering housing and nature, it is clearly possible to meet housing needs by using the empty built environment and building above the surface level of car parks, rather than building new, and often quite small, housing units on greenfield sites. The UK can address housing needs without sacrificing climate and biodiversity targets. However, housing developers need to be monitored closely.
Local government cuts cripple environmental protection
The cuts hitting local governments’ environmental functions depend on how widely the term “environment” is defined. Councils report that 80% of their number struggle to recruit and retain planning officers, who play a significant role in deciding environmental aspects of planning applications and subsequent environmental monitoring.
Environment and neighbourhood services have been experiencing skills shortages. In 2021, only a third of planning authorities had access to an in-house ecologist, which is arguably essential for the fulfilment of planning functions. In 2025, the government is considering further cuts to local government spending, while local authority environmental responsibilities are stretched financially and plagued by skills shortages.
Endless promises, but all talk and too little action
An examination of key government documentation on the environment since 2018 may give an impression of a commitment to biodiversity. The Government’s 25-Year Plan for the Environment (2018) provided a comprehensive statement of intent to address a wide range of environmental issues. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee welcomed the proposals, but stated bluntly they would not reverse biodiversity decline.
The sums specified for the tasks involved were certainly not adequate to address the issues of previous spending cuts, skills shortages, or the scale of problems in certain specific sectors, such as the privatised water industry. This is not surprising, given that spending on biodiversity measures was cut by 42% in 2018-19 compared to 2008-09.
The committee also found that 14 out of 19 biodiversity targets for the UK had not been met by the 2020 target date, and 17 out of 19, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
With only about one in four local authorities having in-house ecologists at the time, part of a declining trend, it is difficult to see how biodiversity gains and losses can be measured comprehensively. Some problems are also intractable, such as water pollution from agriculture.
Reforestation for emissions: a green solution or a missed opportunity?
How, where, and what species of trees are planted and whether the maintenance and management schemes are good, will determine whether carbon sequestration, biodiversity enhancement, and employment opportunities are maximised.
Anxious, perhaps, to placate an aggrieved green movement, our current government pledged to plant a ‘western forest’ of 20 million trees by 2050. This may sound a lot, but the ‘Kentish Hurricane’ of 1987 took down 15 million trees alone, and more are being lost every day through development and neglect. But not all new trees, such as those planted to offset the ‘hurricane’, are welcome. Regrettably, too many reforestation efforts rely on monocultures that diminish biodiversity benefits around the world.
Natural regeneration of forest may well be preferable to human intervention, although some tree species are afflicted by invasive species and pests. Isabella Tree’s book Wilding and the film of the same name, provide an account of rewilding an area of 3,500 acres over many years. However, this exemplary effort is in the context of the catastrophic removal of species by human activity in this country since 1945: 75,000 miles of hedgerows, about 90% of wetlands in England, and around 97% of wildflower meadows. Since 1966, about 40 million birds have been lost; moths’ numbers are down by 88%; and there are 76% fewer butterflies.
The potential for emission reductions, more jobs in tourism and hospitality, and more useful employment in local government has clearly not been considered. And the idea of reintroducing species in Britain is still in its infancy.
In its January 2023 report, the Office for Environmental Protection found that the government has fallen far short of its targets for the natural environment. This dissatisfaction was reflected in The People’s Plan for Nature, published two months later, as well as in reports on the Green Belt, and on making a progressive case for nature.
Peatlands’ carbon stores under threat
Peat stores more carbon than a tropical rainforest and hosts a considerable proportion of Britain’s complex biodiversity. The previous government developed an England Peat Action Plan. This was incentivised by the fact that only about 13% of England’s peatlands are in what the plan described as ‘… a near-natural state.’ As a result, the government committed to spending £50mn on peatland restoration by 2025. Peatlands help to maintain and improve water quality, and in flood management.
Hedgerows – the ancient lifelines for biodiversity
John Wright’s A Natural History of the Hedgerow is an encyclopaedic journey through the history and importance of hedgerows, and also of ditches, dykes, and drystone walls.
No matter how long ago such features were established, they form barriers and provide opportunities for species for as long as they exist. Many hedges survived general historical removal by being fenced on one side or the other to constrain the movement of livestock. These ‘relict’ hedges are a far cry from largely untouched and sometimes remarkably wide hedges, which are harder to find.
Biodiversity: genuine progress or empty rhetoric?
In order to achieve greater biodiversity, it is important how the introduced species cooperate with each other. This includes native tree species with fungi, animals, and birds that disperse seeds, the presence of pollinators, and more.
Whether this can be achieved in practice as biodiversity net gain (BNG), is one of the most important environmental questions of the day. NE, which is responsible for monitoring SSSIs, had not examined 47% of sites in the six years to 2021.
Reform of BNG is possible if the serious flaws in associated processes and institutions are dealt with. But the focus on this area of government policy does not address degraded SSSIs, for example.
Bridging the policy credibility gap
The Government’s claims for environmental policy founder because of underfunding of local authorities, a ‘war’ on regulators and quangos, some of which have environmental roles, and above all, a severe shortage of skilled labour.
The overlapping climate and ecological emergencies cannot be tackled without investment in these areas. Investment in public sector staffing would enable more effective engagement in partnerships with voluntary bodies at local and national level to help narrow the decades-long gaps in environmental and climate policy. There is a credibility gap that the government has yet to close in terms of resources and, above all, long-term vision. Ignoring environmental voters and underestimating public awareness of policy limits is no path to re-election.
Author’s note: A big thank you to Dr Judy Webb, ecologist, for reading, correcting, and improving this article. Observations and conclusions remain my own.
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