Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 38
38
Deferred
Paragraph: 165
The Government should not count its wins early: protected areas should only be reckoned to...
Recommendation
The Government should not count its wins early: protected areas should only be reckoned to contribute to the 30 by 30 pledge if they are effectively managed and improved. We recommend the Treasury ensure that all bodies involved in the monitoring of 30 per cent of the UK’s land and seas receive funding allocations sufficient to allow comprehensive monitoring to be undertaken. We note it is far less expensive to conserve nature than to restore damaged or degraded resources and the costs involved are small compared to the financial and wider health and well-being benefits.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the importance of well-managed protected areas and states it is developing a Nature Recovery Green Paper, to be published later this year, which will set out its approach to achieving the 30x30 commitment and improving management of protected areas.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
165
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
We are clear that meeting the 30 by 30 target requires we extend our protected areas and ensure they are managed effectively to drive up their value for biodiversity. As we develop our roadmap to meeting the 30 by 30 target on land in England we want to find an approach that strengthens and extends our existing network of protected areas and enhances the links between them. We are already bringing forward new designations and have introduced new funding, such as the Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme, for which applications opened on the 1 July. The programme provides funding for farmers and land managers in England’s National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to deliver projects that support nature recovery, mitigate the impacts of climate change, provide opportunities for people to access these landscapes, and that support nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses. It will run to March 2024. In English waters there are 178 sustainable-use Marine Protected Areas protecting 40% of our seas and we have recently committed to piloting Highly Protected Marine Areas in English waters to boost biodiversity recovery. Later this year we will publish a Nature Recovery Green Paper, which will set out more detail on our approach to delivering this important commitment in England. Funding for bodies involved in monitoring of land and sea is considered under recommendation 11.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗