Introducing protected areas
The UK government has pledged to protect 30% of UK land and seas by 2030 for nature recovery. But what are protected areas and why should we care about the target?
The British Ecological Society report examines the Prime Minister’s pledge to protect 30% of UK land and seas by 2030 to support nature recovery. We asked one of the report authors, Chloë Metcalfe of UCL, why we should all care about the target.
Why do protected areas matter?
The UK government has pledged to protect 30% of our land and seas by 2030 to support the recovery of nature, otherwise known as the 30×30 target.
A suite of area-based conservation measures, including protected areas (PAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) will be essential towards achieving this target. Failure to achieve this could lead to an irrecoverable decline in biodiversity, and losses of ecosystem functions, such as wave regulation or woodlands that can slow surface water (the loss of which could lead to widespread flooding and landslides).
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