Authors: Sophus zu Ermgassen ,PhD Researcher, Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent; Eleanor Jane Milner-Gulland, Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity, University of Oxford and Joseph William Bull, Senior Lecturer in Conservation Science, University of Kent
The UK government is making serious investments in new infrastructure as part of its post-pandemic recovery strategy, with £27 billion committed to road expansion, and a target of building an additional 300,000 homes per year. But it also has ambitious targets to halt and reverse wildlife declines by the end of the decade.
Addressing potential trade-offs between these objectives, the 2021 Environment Act made it mandatory (after a two-year transition) for most new developments in England to achieve a “biodiversity net gain” – a measure to ensure nature is left better off overall than before the project began. The government is now consulting on how to implement the legislation – but as it stands, we worry that the policy contains loopholes and will be nearly impossible to enforce.
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Posted On: 25/03/2022