State of Nature 2023: report shows Britain's wildlife in 'devastating decline' - what are the key findings?

Fields of heather and harebells in full bloom, the cooing of turtle doves from hedgerows in the springtime, and streams brimming with slippery eels could soon be things of the past.

The State of Nature partnership - made up of dozens of UK-based conservation organisations - published its landmark new State of Nature report on Wednesday evening (27 September), assessing how more than ten thousand native plant, animal, and fungi species are faring - in one of the world's most nature-depleted countries.

Of all of the species assessed, nearly one in six (16%) is at risk of disappearing from Great Britain altogether. But the UK's treasured animals will be among the wildlife hit the hardest, if we don't move "far faster" towards nature-friendly land use.

The report found 43% of British bird species, 31% of our amphibians and reptiles, and one-in-four land mammals (26%) are now facing extinction. Some of those now facing an uncertain future include the turtle dove, the hazel dormouse, the lady’s slipper orchid, and the European eel, the report says.

But Britain's flora and foliage have not escaped unscathed, with 28% of fungi and lichen now meeting conservation, red-list criteria, and the distribution of more than half of our flowering plant species declining - meaning less people get to enjoy fields filled with species like harebells and heather.

The State of Nature report, thought to be the most comprehensive examination of the status of the UK's wildlife, is published every few years, and a worrying trend has emerged. Since 1970, the abundance of land and freshwater species studied has declined on average by 19%.

However, the report noted that even before widespread monitoring began, the UK's biodiversity had already been highly depleted by centuries of habitat loss, unsustainable farming practices, development, and persecution. More than half of the UK's biodiversity is now gone, due to human activity.

The biggest drivers of nature loss, according to the report, are the intensive way we manage our land for farming, and the ongoing impact of climate change.

The report also found that only one in seven (14%) of habitats considerer important for wildlife, were in a good ecological condition - including just 7% of woodlands. Due to habitat damage from fishing gear, none of the seafloor around the UK was found in good condition.

However, it noted restoration projects like seagrass beds were now underway to stem declines, which may not only restore these habitats for wildlife, but help the UK mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a key member in the State of Nature partnership. Chief executive Beccy Speight said the UK’s wildlife is better studied than in any other country in the world.

"What the data tell us should make us sit up and listen," she said. "What is clear, is that progress to protect our species and habitats has not been sufficient and yet we know we urgently need to restore nature to tackle the climate crisis and build resilience."

People now knew how to restore ecosystems and save species through conservation work, she said, but Britain needed to move "far faster" towards nature-friendly land and sea use, "otherwise the UK’s nature and wider environment will continue to decline and degrade, with huge implications for our own way of life".

Ms Speight added: "It’s only through working together that we can help nature recover.”

This comes amid reports the government is planning to push back yet another green policy, one which would have forced building developers to leave wildlife habitats in a better state than when construction started.

The BBC reports it has been told by a government source that Biodiversity Net Gain, which was meant to become a mandatory part of England's planning system in November, will no longer be introduced this year.

Despite recent moves towards more nature-friendly land and sea use, the State of Nature report found only a fifth of British farmland is now in an agri-environment scheme, while just 44% of woodland is certified as being sustainably managed. On top of this, only about half of fish stocks were being sustainably harvested - although all three measures have improved over the past 20 years.

The report said the best available information suggested that nature-friendly farming needed to be implemented at a much wider scale to stop local wildlife declining further, and this needed to be considered on the same level as climate action - while still meeting Britain's need for food, energy, and fuel.

But on a positive note, conservation is making a big difference to many of our species and habitats. Large-scale restoration projects, such as the 60,000-hectare Cairngorms Connect has allowed the first-ever translocation of Scottish wildcats, while the number of species found in the Lyme Bay Marine Protected Area has increased markedly since trawling was banned in 2008.

Hundreds of endangered water voles are now calling the Lake District's rivers and wetlands home once more after the species disappeared from the area, after years of work by landowners and conservation groups finally pay off.