Natural England unveils £18m endangered species protection funding scheme
Conservation funding geared towards research and investment in wildlife habitat restoration and protection across England
Rare British species including the water vole, natterjack toad and wartbiter cricket could soon be protected under a new £18m grant scheme designed to help safeguard threatened species from extinction.
Natural England said its Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme announced earlier this week would help to support a series of nature restoration projects over two years.
Eligible projects should aim to deliver targeted conservation action through the creation and improvement of specific wildlife habitats, conservation translocations – whereby native at-risk species are moved or released from one geographic area to another to boost populations – as well as supporting research and creating solutions to address species decline, it said.
The fund supports the government’s commitment to halt nature’s decline by reducing the risk of species extinction by 2042, Natural England said, as well as supporting the creation of a Nature Recovery Network of wildlife rich habitats.
Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, warned that almost 40 per cent of England’s wildlife species are currently in decline, with around 15 per cent in danger of extinction. He cited “a range of pressures” being responsible for the “drastic decline” of many species, including the fragmentation of habitats, historic losses of natural areas, pollution, the changing climate and the impact of invasive alien species.
“We know that we can turn this around though,” he said. “The return of large blue butterfly to flower-rich grasslands in the Cotswolds, red kites coming back to soar over the Chiltern Hills and beyond, the bittern making a comeback back in East Anglian wetlands and the white-tailed eagle to the South Coast all present practical cases in point as to what we can be done with careful planning and partnership working. The funding announced today will continue to build and support the excellent collaborative work that is happening as we work to put Nature on the road to recovery.”
Meanwhile, Natural England has also unveiled plans to reduce nutrient pollution in the UK’s waterways through a new offset credit scheme for property developers.
The Nutrient Mitigation Scheme allows property developers to apply for credits to offset the impacts of their developments and create new wildlife habitats, such as wetlands, according to the conservation agency.
Natural England said the scheme would be available to developers in the Tees and Cleveland Coast Catchment, where it has already invested in land to provide the first credits in the area for up to 1,600 homes this year.
“If we are to see nature recovery in action, we must first protect these internationally renowned places,” said Marian Spain, chief executive of Natural England. “Our new mitigation scheme will help improve our natural environment and allow the houses we need to be built.”
In related news, cattle farmers in the UK could soon be given special compound feed for their herds to help them reduce the amount methane produced from their cows, under plans launched last week as part of the government’s ‘Green Day’ net zero policy blitz.
In the Net Zero Growth Strategy, the government said it would aim to explore how to better support farmers to understand and combat their emissions impact, potentially including through “high efficacy methane suppressing products”.
The government said it expected these products to be launched in 2025, and that it is currently exploring the role of both industry and government to make these products accessible and suitable for all cattle farms “as soon as practically possible.”
