Thank you for contacting me about habitat regulations.
The Environment Act 2021 requires the Government to set a new, historic legally binding target to be set to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, as a core part of our commitment to leave the environment in a better state than we found it. Through the Nature Recovery Green Paper, Ministers are exploring proposals to create a system that will better enable the delivery of that target, and which better reflects our domestic species and habitats.
The proposals outlined within the Green Paper seek to make it easier for everyone who engages with protected sites to understand goals for the sites, reasons for protecting them, and how sites can be effectively managed to achieve nature recovery. The ambition is to create a system that better reflects the latest scientific evidence including the impacts of climate change, the domestic and international importance of our species and habitats, and our significant goals to recover nature, both on land and at sea.
I understand that the current process highlights where sites are in poor condition. Instead, Ministers want to find opportunities to create a system that better reflects the latest science and finds solutions to help drive nature recovery, maintain protections, and create more upfront certainty and clarity for all. The working group recommendations for a “clearer decision-making framework” and “strategic solutions” reflect this.
The consultation on the Nature Recovery Green Paper closed on 11 May and over 1,400 responses were received. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is now analysing responses to the consultation.
More generally, I am keen to see greater landscape protection for the Island. I have set out to the Government my vision for the Island to have the UK’s first ‘Island Park’ which would see the Island gain unique protection status somewhere between that of an AONB and a National Park.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.