The UK is home to species found nowhere else on Earth. But immense pressure from decades of pollution and habitat loss has driven wildlife into catastrophic decline.
Shockingly, 1 in 6 species in the UK is now at risk of extinction hence Kent's ambitious programme for species recovery including the return of missing species and the focus on keystone/flagship species as a way to drive broader protection, but more importantly restoration of functioning ecosystems at scale to reverse these declines.
Learn more about our Wilder Blean project
Bringing back the UK's lost wildlife requires robust changes in species licencing and regulation to allow native species such as pine marten, beaver, chough to be translocated. It also requires a recognition of the value of returning missing species to restore ecosystem functionality within Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
What we want to see is not words, but rhetoric; not empty promises but a government that acts. Positive, long term action to help our biodiversity recover.Wildlife TV Presenter and Vice President, The Wildlife Trusts
To bring back our lost wildlife and put it on a path to recovery, we’re calling on all political parties to...
Make more space for nature
To reverse the declines of wildlife, more places are needed for nature. Currently, just 3% of land and 8% of English waters are properly protected for nature – this is nowhere near enough. The next UK Government should launch an Olympic-style cross-government delivery project to protect and restore at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030.
Stop damage to Marine Protected Areas
The UK’s seas are being poisoned by sewage discharges and river pollution is draining into them on a daily basis. Even our protected areas at sea are being damaged by unsustainable development and destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling. It must stop. Our Marine Protected Areas should be properly protected – with destructive practices banned and development avoided.
Bring wild beavers back to every county
Beavers are nature’s finest ‘wetland engineers’. Returning beavers to the wild can be a game changer for restoring lost wetlands and benefitting all kinds of wildlife. Moreover, beavers can help to reduce the risk of wildfires and flooding which threaten people’s homes. Bringing back wild beavers to every county in England is a critical part of addressing the climate and nature crises.