On 27 August 2022, the Government announced a new £5m fund to promote the use of peatlands for sustainable farming [1] – the Paludiculture Exploration Fund (PEF), which seeks to unlock barriers to making commercial paludiculture a reality. In this …
By: John Holmes, NE Strategy Director Hen harriers are currently extremely rare in England due to illegal persecution and nest disturbance, primarily in areas associated with grouse shooting. Natural England satellite-tracks hen harriers in order to investigate patterns of dispersal …
By: John Holmes, NE Strategy Director This year has seen another encouraging increase in the breeding population of one of our rarest birds of prey. Natural England and partners are pleased to report that a total of 49 hen harrier …
The Secretary of State has now launched an 8-week consultation on the Biodiversity Metric to be used for the purpose of calculating biodiversity net gain as required under the 2021 Environment Act[1]. The Biodiversity Metric is a key tool that …
By Ginny Swaile, Deputy Director Science - Sustainable land and sea use The UK is currently experiencing the largest outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza on record with poultry, captive birds and wild birds all affected. A similar situation is …
By Mel Hughes, Director of Sustainable Development, Natural England Solutions to the pressing issue of how to bring forward plans for sustainable new homes without adding further nutrients to our already polluted waterbodies have been strengthened this week by Natural …
Bees are undeniably beautiful and fascinating insects, but what many people do not always realise is how vital they are for a healthy environment and healthy economy. The vast majority of our food and wildflowers rely on pollination, which bees …
In 2021, we launched a new £12.5m pilot programme funded by Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund to research and tackle biodiversity loss and climate change. The pilot programme aims to test approaches for creating and restoring species rich habitats, such as …
By John Holmes, Operations Director The most successful species reintroduction to England ever - the red kite - has come full circle this year, with Natural England licensing the translocation of red kites back to Spain to help bolster low …
The Environment Act 2021 sets out the Government’s aim to put nature on the road to recovery for future generations. It has given us some of the tools needed to deliver for our environment, from cleaning up the country’s air, …