Defra to conduct a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan as “nature is dying"
The Government has announced a “rapid review” of the 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) and pledged to develop a new statutory plan to restore the natural environment and meet Environment Act targets.
Environment secretary, Steve Reed, said: “Nature is dying. Britain is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Our animal species face extinction. Our precious landscapes are in decline. Our rivers, lakes and seas are awash with sewage and pollution. Air pollution continues to plague our towns and cities. Nature underpins everything – the economy, food, health and society – but we stand at a moment in history when nature needs us to defend it.”
The intention is to engage with a wide range of stakeholders and complete the review by the end of the year.
The announcement came as the government published the EIP Annual progress report, covering the actions taken under the previous government to deliver the EIP between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. Defra said this “reveals that dire state of the natural environment” including that the all-species indicator showed an overall decline to around 69% of its starting value in 1970 and that 16% of species are threatened with extinction in Great Britain.
Goal 3 in the EIP is for ‘clean and plentiful water’. The progress report listed actions taken towards this goal last year, including: publishing the Plan for Water and a National Policy Statement for Water Resources; identifying 140 sewage works for nutrient-stripping upgrades; expanding the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan; and various enforcement activities.
The rapid review of the EIP has been widely welcomed. Ruth Chambers, senior fellow at Green Alliance, said: “The previous government failed to consult on the first EIP, which meant policies and proposals weren’t tested and improved before they emerged. The new administration has an opportunity to properly engage with the people who’d be affected and can help turn around the decline.”
Dame Glenys Stacey, chair of the Office for Environmental Protection, said: “We have found that Government is largely off track to meet the environmental ambitions as set out in the EIP. We welcome a rapid review of the EIP to make sure it can drive environmental protection and improvement at the scale and pace that is needed to address deeply concerning trends, and with the transparency that the sector and others need in order to fully play their part.”
Nature coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link called for Defra to be elevated to a ‘mission critical’ department for government. Chief executive, Richard Benwell, said: “Nature’s health has ramifications for so much of society, so if we get it right this will be more than an EIP. It will be an Economic Improvement Plan, a Health Improvement Plan, and a Climate Improvement Plan… The challenge is to turn a lengthy list of aspirations into an action plan fit to reverse decades of decline in nature. The agriculture, water, and development sectors all need rapid transformation.”
Cleaning up rivers, lakes and seas is one of Reed’s five priorities for this Parliament. The others are: creating a roadmap to move Britain to a zero waste economy; boosting food security; ensuring nature’s recovery; and protecting communities from the dangers of flooding.
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