Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to maintain levels of biodiversity in the UK.

Responsibility for biodiversity policy in the UK is devolved. In England we are taking unprecedented steps to maintain and increase biodiversity, not least by way of our world leading Environment Act, through which we have set new, legally binding targets to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and then reverse declines by 2042. This is complemented by further targets to reduce the risk of species extinction and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat. The Act also introduced a powerful package of new policies and tools including Biodiversity Net Gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities which will work together to protect our native species. We have introduced significant new funding for nature to support these aims, including for woodland and peatland restoration, green recovery and landscape scale nature recovery, and we are developing new Environmental Land Management schemes that reward environmental benefits. Our updated Environmental Improvement Plan for England, required by the Environment Act, will be published by 31 January and will be delivery focused, setting out the actions that will drive us towards reaching our long-term targets and goals. It will also include interim targets to be achieved in the next 5 years

We have also committed to protecting 30% of our land and sea by 2030 to better support and recover biodiversity. We have announced a landmark designation programme to help realise this, including the consideration of two new AONBs and creating a new Somerset Wetlands super National Nature Reserve that will protect 6,140 hectares of precious habitats.