After 10 Years, UK Fails On 17 Out Of 20 Biodiversity Targets It Agreed To With UN
The UK has failed to reach 17 out of 20 UN biodiversity targets agreed on 10 years ago, according to an analysis from conservation charity RSPB that says the gap between rhetoric and reality has resulted in a “lost decade for nature”.
The UK government’s self-assessment said it failed on two-thirds of targets (14 out of 20) agreed at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010, but the RSPB analysis suggests the reality is worse. On six of the 20 targets the UK has actually gone backwards. The government’s assessment published last year said it was not regressing on any target.
Significant failures include insufficient funding for nature conservation, too little land being managed for nature, and declining wildlife populations. “It [the government assessment] is a rose-tinted interpretation,” said Kate Jennings, author of the report and head of site conservation policy at RSPB. “What we have seen is an awful lot of positive rhetoric, what we’re not seeing is the action to back that up. The government creates an impression of taking this stuff seriously but as soon as you dig down into the action that’s just not reflected.”
In the past decade, funding for UK wildlife and the environment has dropped by 30% – the equivalent of £250m. This means habitats are not being created, protected or monitored sufficiently, the report says. On paper, the UK is protecting 28% of land and 24% of sea but in practice a lot of protected land, such as national parks and sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), are not being properly managed. The report suggests in reality as little as 5% of land in the UK is being effectively looked after for nature.
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https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/sep/14/lost-decade-for-nature-as-uk-fails-on-17-of-20-un-biodiversity-targets-aoe
