The UK’s national parks should not be considered “protected areas” unless the way they look after wildlife radically improves, according to a new report.
Internationally, the UK is leading calls to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 (the “30x30” target), but is failing to protect its own wildlife, says a report by the British Ecological Society (BES).
Protected areas such as national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) make up 28% of UK land, but only about 5% is effectively protected. The report recommends that they should not be included in the UK’s total in their current state.
Such areas can support higher species richness but “very often the report finds that those benefits are negligible”, said Prof Jane Hill, an ecologist from the University of York and one of the report’s authors.
“The evidence is that most protected landscapes are not delivering for nature and only a low percentage are in good ecological condition. However, because there is existing governance in place managing these landscapes, they have great potential to be adapted to improve how they deliver for nature.”
The BES Protected Areas and Nature Recovery report argues that landscapes should be designated a protected area only if it is proved that wildlife is recovering in the long term. Key reasons for poor ecological condition include unsustainable farming and fishing practices, pollution and the spread of non-native species.
Governments around the world are negotiating the next decade of UN targets to protect nature, with dozens of countries pledging to protect 30x30, as area-based conservation is key to tackling the climate and ecological crises. Yet many are failing to have a positive effect on wildlife, according to a separate report on 1,500 protected sites worldwide, published this week in Nature.
“Protected landscapes – such as national parks and AONBs etc – were not designated primarily for biodiversity. A repurposing is required for them to be included in 30x30,” said Dr Joseph Bailey of York St John University, lead author of the BES report. “This is no small task and will require substantial and sustained resourcing to ensure they deliver for nature in the long term. Such a reform could in fact be one of the most positive outcomes for 30x30.”
Protected areas are underfunded and as a result have been forced to make compromises, the BES report finds. Within national parks there is also limited data on how well wildlife areas are being looked after. Better enforcement, monitoring and long-term protection are needed, and adequate money and resources should be made available for this to happen, researchers said.
On their own, protected areas are not enough to stem the country’s catastrophic loss of biodiversity. Landscapes surrounding them also need to be better managed to support nature, which is increasingly important as species shift their range in response to climate change. However, researchers say a lot of positive work is starting to happen, including more nature-friendly farming, peatland restoration and wetland management.
Thirty-eight per cent of UK seas are marine protected areas (MPAs), but in practice many have no management measures in place and are threatened by damaging and unregulated bottom trawling. Fishing is banned in only 0.0024% of UK waters, currently covering three MPAs.
Rick Stafford, of Bournemouth University and an author of the BES report, said: “The proposal to protect 30% of UK seas is very welcome, but we need effective management measures in place in MPAs which will protect wildlife and benefit local coastal communities.
“The lack of comprehensive management or enforcement means that the majority are failing to deliver for nature and bring the full range of biodiversity benefits they otherwise could.”
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