A new report published by the BES asks what are the critical actions government should prioritise for freshwater before 2030?
We’ve seen the headlines, read the eye-popping investigations, and heard the exchanges between government, activists and water companies. From Joe Lycett on Channel 4 to the Environment Agency Chair at the NFU Conference last month – the calls for action to help our freshwater ecosystems are getting louder and more urgent. Within the UK, England’s rivers are in the worst health; only 16% classify as having ‘good’ ecological status and the public are increasingly horrified by what they’re hearing.
The Environment Act (2021) sets out much-needed targets for both water quality and biodiversity. The road to achieving these goals, however, is complex, with a nuanced interplay between various stressors and their impact on freshwater ecosystems. Last November, Defra asked the BES to lead a workshop bringing together nearly 40 experts, to help them navigate freshwater policy and set out a list of priorities for the biodiversity evidence programme. The clock is ticking, and we have just six years to achieve the key target to “halt the decline in species abundance by 2030”.
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Posted On: 22/03/2024