The government will not meet its commitments to stop biodiversity loss by 2030 if it scraps new payments to incentivise wildlife-friendly farming in England, the head of its nature watchdog has said.
Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England, told the environment secretary, Ranil Jayawardena, in a letter this week that if the government did not keep its commitment to move from area-based farm payments to “public money for public goods” – rewarding farmers for work to replenish soil, prevent floods and restore pollinators – it will not meet its legally binding target to halt biodiversity decline by 2030.
Asked by members of the public about the government’s “attack on nature” at an event celebrating 70 years of national nature reserves, Juniper said he believed the government could meet “not only its ambitions on economic growth but nature recovery”, but it must not view the environment as an impediment to growth.
The Truss administration signalled its desire to rip up environmental changes instigated under the Conservative governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Its controversial growth plan signalled a review of financial support for farms in England, and aspirations to abolish European environmental protections and to create investment zones with minimal planning rules.
Environmental charities have launched a major campaign against this “attack on nature”.
At the event at Holkham national nature reserve, Juniper said the government had this week reiterated its commitment to halting biodiversity loss by 2030.
“If we do not keep the commitment to shift from area-based farm subsidies we probably can’t meet those 2030 targets, and I’ve told the environment secretary that,” Juniper said. “We’re looking to stick to these targets and find ways that the government ambitions can be met – not only for economic growth but nature recovery.”
On the government’s desire to scrap European Union environmental laws, such as the habitats directive, which have been enshrined in British law since Brexit, Juniper said: “Any legal changes that come forward must not diminish the protections we have and must either maintain or enhance the protections we’ve got.”
On investment zones, Juniper said: “We are going to advise government that there is an opportunity here for doing nature recovery better. Instead of saying: ‘Build loads of houses and look at the environment afterwards’, we can look at the whole landscape and plan where we need more residential capacity and infrastructure and where we are going to put the new woodlands and meadows and sustainable agriculture. If we have the ecologists, planners and developers sitting together from day one we can get better outcomes for everyone.
“If we do these investment zones in the right way we could end up with more wildlife, not less, but we need to get away from the mindset that environmental legislation is holding back economic growth. That’s not right.”
Some Conservative politicians want Natural England to be dismantled, and earlier in the summer a proposal emerged to absorb it into the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, but Natural England sources – not Juniper – believe the current administration lacks parliamentary time to make such a move.
A government spokesperson said: “Claims we intend to go back on our commitment to the environment are simply not right. We are committed to halting the decline of nature by 2030 and will not undermine our obligations to the environment in pursuit of growth.
“A strong environment and a strong economy go hand in hand. We have legislated through the Environment Act and will continue to improve our regulations and wildlife laws in line with our ambitious vision.
“We want every corner of our country to prosper, too. Bureaucratic processes in the planning system do not necessarily protect the environment so, by making sure we have the right regulations for our nation, we can make this happen.”
