Using land to protect nature – how will 30by30 work?

In 2020, the UK Government made a commitment to protecting 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 – known as 30by30. This is a worldwide initiative aiming to halt the decline of nature globally, which more than 100 countries have signed up to.

Last week, Defra provided an update on its plans to deliver 30by30 on land in England, and gave criteria for what land uses might count towards the target. This follows almost a year of stakeholder engagement, which the CLA has been heavily involved in.

While the CLA is supportive of initiatives to protect and enhance nature, land in the UK is increasingly under pressure to deliver lots of different benefits: food production, housing, infrastructure, and nature restoration. Balancing competing land uses will be a major challenge for the new Labour government.

Building on an initial announcement last December, Defra has set out the criteria it will use to assess whether land should count towards 30by30.

One of the key takeaways from the news is that contributions to 30by30 will be voluntary, meaning that the majority of the target will be achieved by land managers (including environmental charities and private landowners) putting their land forward to be counted. Initially, the CLA was concerned that the target would be achieved by designating more land as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), so we welcome this commitment. SSSI designation is meant to protect the most important species and habitats, whereas 30by30 is focussed on protecting a much broader area of land. In addition, the CLA believes SSSI designation does not currently deliver the best results for nature or for farm businesses.

Within the announcement, Defra has recognised that land manager buy-in will be crucial to achieving the target. Having this recognition is crucial; too often policies are designed without this consideration, which can lead to problems with making them work in practice.

Land which is designated as a SSSI, and which is classified as being in “Favourable” or “Unfavourable - Recovering” condition, is expected to count towards the target. National Nature Reserves (NNRs) and public woodland managed for biodiversity are also expected to count. Together, this adds up to 7.1% of England.

The remainder of the target is expected to be made up of “voluntary 30by30” contributions, which is land that:

• Has a purpose or management goal of delivering conservation outcomes, which can be alongside other objectives, including food production
• Is secured for at least 20 years, through legal or other means (which could include long-term ownership or management)
• Has a management plan designed to deliver conservation outcomes, which is being effectively implemented and monitored, and is consequently delivering good outcomes for nature

We know many CLA members are going above and beyond to improve and restore nature across the country, while also producing food, providing housing, and a whole host of other activities. We believe that many of the activities land managers are already doing could meet the criteria for 30by30. For example, land used to create biodiversity units for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), or land which is accredited by Wildlife Farms and Estates.

The CLA has spent a lot of time identifying the potential issues with Defra’s approach to 30by30 from a land manager point of view. We have been part of Defra’s stakeholder working group and have shared a policy briefing setting out our key concerns and ideas. The 30by30 target ties in with lots of objectives and schemes CLA members are already involved in delivering, including BNG and Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs).

Our overarching request is that the target is delivered by working with land managers, rather than through designation of land or even compulsory purchase. Defra’s statement that the target will be reached through voluntary contributions, and by getting land manager buy-in is reassuring.

We also want a pragmatic approach to 30by30 which will recognise the wide range of activities that contribute to nature restoration across the country. From getting involved in Landscape Recovery to creating new woodland, every day our members are using their land to help halt the nature crisis.

Therefore, one of our key asks is that the criteria must be flexible enough to recognise the wide range of activities that are delivering for nature, including nature friendly farming systems, woodland and environmental land.

Our biggest concern at this stage is the lack of incentive, whether it is public or private finance, for land managers to put their land forwards towards voluntary 30by30, combined with the potential risks. The CLA is concerned that putting land forwards would mean extra bureaucracy, with no benefits to the land manager. We will be focussing our lobbying efforts on this element now, to ensure that land managers are able to maintain viable businesses and do more for nature.

Defra is about to start a piloting process, to test how the criteria and administration works in practice. We hope that this will involve some CLA members, who will be able to demonstrate how delivering for nature while running a thriving rural business can go hand in hand.

CLA Cymru are still waiting for the Welsh Government to set out plans for how to achieve the target on land in Wales.