I'm Will Lockhart, Deputy Director for Nature Markets and Investment at Defra. In March, I wrote about how we're encouraging more private investment in nature recovery in England – including making it easier for businesses to pay for the benefits nature provides, and launching new, world-leading nature investment …
The new Wildlife-Rich Habitat Fund (WRHF) is now live. It’s a new pot of money - £30 million - to create wildlife-rich habitats in National Parks and National Landscapes in England. Read this guest post by Chair of the Protected Landscapes Partnership Mary-Ann Ochota to find out more.
Peatlands have a vital role to play in helping us meet our net zero targets, but to restore them at the scale we need, we first need to grow the sector that does that work. That's what today's announcement is designed to do.
This week (11-17 May) is National Plant health week, and we are celebrating our plant health heroes. Read this post to find out the importance of this work and the networks which are key to plant health protection.
Waste crime is not new, but in recent years it has escalated into a more sophisticated, costly and damaging criminal enterprise. It costs the economy an estimated £1 billion every year, blights our communities, and causes serious harm to the environment. From vast illegal dumps to fraudulent disposal records, …
Over the past two years, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) has started to change the way development and nature work together, and we’ve learned a huge amount from local authorities, developers and ecologists along the way. Last week, we published a set of updates that strengthen and streamline how BNG operates across the planning system. Read …
Today, I’m pleased to announce we’re extending the scheme for a further year until April 2027 – so existing projects from the North York Moors to the Somerset Levels can continue to deliver valuable work on the ground. Read this post to delve in further.
The Government has set statutory targets to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and to reduce species extinction risk by 2042 against 2022 levels, as set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan. That’s why the Government has made a record investment in nature. In this post, we’ll talk you through the recent news and campaign for species recovery.
This month marks a significant milestone for soil, and in how we all can factor soils into our policy, research and decision making. The National Soil Map for England and Wales, alongside a range of additional LandIS datasets are now open.
Nature markets matter. When they are designed well, with high environmental standards at their centre, they drive real and lasting environmental change underpinned by financial returns that lock in that change for generations to come. This is where the Nature Investment Standards come in.