Housing, health and planning must invest in nature to improve people’s lives, help cut emissions and rebuild the economy

The big news today is the new report from the Wildlife Trusts

Housing, health and planning must invest in nature to improve people’s lives, help cut emissions and rebuild the economy - The Wildlife Trusts

Person walking along a path near houses in Cambourne © Matthew Roberts — Cambourne © Matthew Roberts

New report calls on all parts of Government and local authorities to unlock the benefits of nature to society

A new report from The Wildlife Trusts reveals how restoring nature – at a time when it has never been more degraded – can bring wide-ranging benefits to society, help reach net-negative carbon emissions and rebuild the economy following the pandemic.

The report argues that taking a transformational approach to putting nature at the heart of a sustainable, green economy, will create more jobs, ensure that land and sea are properly managed for the long-term, enable people to live happier, healthier lives, and restore our much-depleted natural world.

A Wilder Recovery says that there has been a failure to recognise the vital role that nature plays in our society and economy – and that this must be urgently addressed with a £1 billion per year funding package to restore nature at scale.

Government spending on biodiversity has shrunk by 33% over five years even though big promises have been made to restore 30% of land for nature by 2030. Defra’s funding is inadequate to tackle the size of the task ahead, and other Government departments are doing little to help reach this target either. Worse still, some Government proposals such as planning reforms, threaten to damage our natural world even further.

The Wildlife Trusts believe that all areas of Government – locally and nationally – can benefit from working with nature, as well as helping it to recover. For example:

Treasury: Research shows investing in nature will bring good jobs to the places that need them most. An investment plan in our environment can provide the new jobs and skills needed to tackle the nature and climate crisis. Surrey Wildlife Trust’s ‘Naturally Richer Holmesdale’ project, for example, has shown how repairing nature can help drive economic recovery.
Housing: new development should integrate nature into designs for new housing whilst also making communities more attractive and healthier places to live. In Gloucestershire, the local Wildlife Trust has worked in partnership to set new standards to define what good green infrastructure looks like. So far, over 30,000 homes have been accredited using these ‘Building with Nature’ standards. These standards need to be adopted at scale.
Health: a vast body of evidence links nature with better health. Equal access to wild places is vital because such places provide a natural health service. Investing in nature-based activities improves people’s skills and confidence, helping them get into employment and stay active. Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s MyPlace scheme, for example, empowers people, improves their well-being, and saves the NHS money.
Planning: we need to think big if we are to ensure that 30% of land and seas is protected to help the natural world thrive again by 2030 – but planning reforms look set to harm nature further and the cumulative impact of developments is not being taken into account. Nature should be integrated into new developments and a new designation is needed for land that is put aside for nature’s recovery – Wildbelt.
Safeguarding the sea: If offshore renewable energy is developed without strenuous efforts to minimise negative impacts on marine ecosystems, it will damage the ability of underwater habitats to help tackle climate change. We should designate 30% of the protected sites network as Highly Protected Marine Areas as a matter of urgency. The sea must be protected for wildlife and for the carbon its habitats can store.