Ministers are “window dressing” with nature policies announced to “cover up” the government’s failings on environmental targets, wildlife groups have said.
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) found earlier this month that nature in England is at risk of falling into an “irreversible spiral of decline” because of the government’s failures to meet its legally binding targets on species abundance and water quality.
Instead of providing a detailed response to the OEP, the government has issued an announcement that it will ban the industrial fishing of sandeels to celebrate a year since it announced its legally binding environmental improvement plan (EIP) targets. These targets are to replace the oversight of the EU and are part of the Environment Act 2021.
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The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) found earlier this month that nature in England is at risk of falling into an “irreversible spiral of decline” because of the government’s failures to meet its legally binding targets on species abundance and water quality.
Joan Edwards, the director of policy and public affairs at The Wildlife Trusts, said: “No amount of window dressing can cover up the fact that the UK government has failed its environmental targets.
So it’s hard to welcome the government’s attempt to put a positive spin on their appalling record of continuing nature declines, river pollution, authorisation of a bee-killing pesticide, and failure to implement the promised peat ban.”
Environmental experts have said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) still has not shared how it plans to halt the decline of nature by 2030 while species including insects and birds are still falling in abundance.
Richard Benwell, the chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “The closure of sandeel fisheries and restrictions on bottom-trawling in protected areas are excellent decisions.
“For [the] government to get back on track to meet its legal targets, today’s announcements mustn’t just be a birthday present for the EIP, but the start of a new normal in nature-focused decisions across Whitehall.”
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