Developments to defend and restore nature, not destroy it

Kent Wildlife Trust strongly believe that the next UK Government must solve the housing crisis and provide people with the homes they need. However, these homes should be built in the right places, in the right way.

New housing, road networks and energy infrastructure should be built in a way that actively contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, helps nature to recover and provides benefits for both people and wildlife. We are in a climate and nature emergency, and the two are inextricably linked. Climate change is driving nature’s decline, and the loss of wildlife and wild places leaves us ill-equipped to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to these changes. One crisis cannot be solved without the other. 

Defragmentation of our landscapes is a key barrier to reversing nature's decline. It's important to have a strategic approach in understanding these barriers and the methods for overcoming them so that we can weave these into our Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) and direct action through international best practice. Kent Wildlife Trust's recent trip to the Netherlands was a key example of this. Bringing people together from a number of different organisations (such as Natural England, National Highways, the RSPB, the Department for Transport & South East Water) to explore different ways we can create more joined up habitat is important in creating unity and enabling action.  

To tackle the climate emergency, we’re calling on all political parties to...

 

Create climate-resilient developments to help nature and people adapt to climate change

The next UK Government must measure progress on adaptation at the same time as progress on reducing carbon emissions. Adapting to climate change must be integrated across all UK Government policies to ensure that our towns and cities remain liveable, sustainable and resilient. The integration of high-quality Green Infrastructure and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) into the design of new and existing developments will deliver benefits to both nature and people and transform our urban landscapes into wildlife havens, enabling them to withstand climate change impacts. Enforcing more ambitious Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) targets of 20% will ensure the successful recovery of biodiversity and help mitigate climate change through the restoration and protection of nature.

Great Stour Godmersham
©Joyce Pitt

Prioritise the protection and enhancement of designated wildlife sites to reduce fragmentation

Housing and new road infrastructure often damages natural habitats, fragmenting landscapes and displacing wildlife. Everyone needs a place to live, but we need to build the right homes in the right places. The next UK Government must strengthen the protection of designated wildlife and conservation sites such as SSSIs, Local Wildlife Sites and Habitats of Principle Importance, to raise the ambition of nature positive developments where these habitats are enhanced and connected, not destroyed.

Solar panels on roof of house

Upgrade energy efficiency for homes

The greenest energy is the energy we don’t use. To reduce emissions, costs, and energy bills, the next UK Government must help homes upgrade their energy efficiency urgently, by rapidly expanding home retrofit schemes to bring the entire UK housing stock to a good level of efficiency by 2030. Without serious action, heating and cooling is likely to stay unaffordable for millions of people while energy is wasted – leading to poor outcomes for people’s health and for our environment.

View from below of lots of pylons in the landscape

Tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis in tandem

Efforts made to decarbonise the energy sector must not be at the detriment to existing wildlife. The climate and biodiversity crisis are two sides of the same coin; it is essential that delivering Net Zero does not cause significant impact upon biodiversity and wildlife. We firmly believe that you cannot destroy the environment to save the environment and that's why the next UK Government must tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis together and make sure nature is a primary factor in decision making for energy infrastructure.

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Wildlife recovery to be prioritised

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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.

Early Oat Fields, Haregill Lodge Farm, Ellingstring, North Yorkshire - Paul Harris/2020VISION

Incentives for nature-friendly farmers

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By supporting farmers to shift towards regenerative, nature-friendly methods, farming has huge potential to deliver a green rural renewal. With management of over 70% of UK land, farmers can be a significant part of the solution.

River Itchen, with aquatic plants reflected in the surface. England: Hampshire, Ovington, May

Land, rivers and sea are pollution free

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The state of our rivers is a national disgrace. The UK is ranked as one of the worst countries in Europe for water quality, with pollution beyond legal limits caused by a toxic cocktail of sewage and agricultural pollution.