Building a more resilient UK: our investment in climate adaptation

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Climate change, Nature, Water, Wildlife

Across the UK, we are already seeing its impacts through hotter summers, more intense rainfall, flooding, drought, pressure on water resources, and disruption to services and infrastructure. That’s why today, as part of the Climate and Nature moment, we've announced that the Government is investing up to £30 million to strengthen the evidence base needed for climate …

Wild Again: Restoring England's Wildlife

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Nature, Wild Again
The logo of the new Government campaign - Wild Again: Restoring England's Wildlife

Wild Again is the UK Government's umbrella campaign coordinating species reintroductions, conservation projects, and habitat restoration across England under one shared identity.  The campaign spans the full breadth of nature recovery: large-scale reintroductions of beavers, pine martens and golden eagles; conservation work …

Working with nature across the government estate

An aerial view of Lamberhurst Green Bridge (A21) Credit: National Highways

Restoring nature across the government estate – and beyond  During London Climate Action Week, Defra published the Government Estate Nature Plan (GENP), the first plan of its kind globally, setting out how nature will be restored across government-owned land in England.  In this …

Rooted in place: how the West Midlands Nature Investment Hub is connecting investment with nature 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Farming, Food, Nature, Water

Place matters. Restoring nature, effective planning, decisions about land use, managing catchments – all depend on local factors. To successfully deliver our outcomes and make a real difference to people, Defra must operate effectively locally. This is crucial for everything we do – …

Supporting England’s peat: new grants for water management, wetter farming and restoration capacity 

An aerial view of a paludiculture trial site (Credit: Lancashire Wildlife Trust)

My name is Anika Dowling, and I am a policy advisor in Defra’s Peat team. In this blog I’ll set out what each new scheme offers and how you can apply.  In the Environmental Improvement Plan, we announced our new Peatland Programme for 2026 to 2030. This month, we’ve launched …

Laying the groundwork for the Nature Restoration Fund

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: 30by30, Environmental Improvement Plan, Green finance, Nature, Planning
Wildflowers in front of a development of new homes

The Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) is a landmark reform to the way housing and infrastructure developers meet their environmental responsibilities.   Yesterday, 18 June 2026, two sets of secondary legislation were laid before Parliament.    This is an important step towards putting the fund into practice, …

Celebrating the launch of our first National River Walk – join our webinars on how to apply to deliver our next four river walks 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Access and engagement, National River Walks, Nature
A tree-lined path along a river

Rivers are at the heart of many of our towns, cities and countryside landscapes. They shape the places we live, support wildlife, and offer people somewhere to walk, wheel, cycle, volunteer, spend time with family, and connect with nature close to home.  …

Biodiversity Net Gain for NSIPs: gain statements laid and guidance published 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity net gain, Land use
image of a wildflower meadow with poppies and daisies

We have reached a significant milestone in implementing Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).  Earlier this week the final biodiversity gain statements were formally laid in Parliament and are now available on GOV.UK. These statements are central to applying BNG to the NSIP regime and accompany the two statutory instruments in …