One in six species is at risk of being lost in Great Britain, according to a comprehensive analysis by leading wildlife scientists.
Bird species such as turtle doves had the most worrying results in the report, with 43% at risk of extinction, but other much loved creatures such as the hazel dormouse, the lady’s slipper orchid and the european eel also now face an uncertain future. The report argues that this is largely a result of human activities such as causing habitat loss, accelerating diseases such as avian flu via factory farming, and burning fossil fuels, which has altered the climate.
The State of Nature report, published on Wednesday, features work from 60 research and conservation organisations based on data from monitoring schemes and biological recording centres, to provide a benchmark for the status of the UK’s wildlife. Previous editions were published in 2013, 2016 and 2019.
On Thursday, environment groups including the Wildlife Trusts, Greenpeace, Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife will be protesting outside the government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, calling for greater protections for the natural world.
Since 1970, the abundance of the species studied in the report has declined on average by 19%, and nature continues to be in freefall. Amphibians and reptiles are also at risk, with 31% facing an uncertain future, and 28% of fungi and lichen species under threat. Twenty-six per cent of terrestrial mammals in Great Britain are facing extinction. There have also been declines in the distributions of more than half (54%) of flowering plant species.
The report found the intensive way in which we manage our land for farming and the continuing effects of climate change are the two biggest drivers of nature loss. For marine creatures, climate change and unsustainable fishing are the largest factors.
For farmers who are trying to use organic methods to reduce pests on their crops, the results for invertebrates are worrying. Insect species that provide pest control, such as the two-spot ladybird, have declined by 34%, showing a sharper decline than insect species in general, which have reduced by 18%.
The report also found that only a fifth of farmland is in a nature-friendly farming scheme and just 44% of woodland is certified as sustainably managed.
Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive, said: “The UK’s wildlife is better studied than in any other country in the world and what the data tells us should make us sit up and listen. 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.
“We know that conservation works and how to restore ecosystems and save species. We need to move far faster as a society 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. It’s only through working together that we can help nature recover.”
The habitats these creatures rely on are also degrading in quality. Out of the assessed areas for wildlife, only one in seven (14%) were found to be in a good condition and only one in 14 (7%) woodlands and a quarter of peatlands were assessed to be in a good ecological state. None of the seafloor was found to be in good condition, due to habitat damage from fishing gear.
There is a small amount of good news in the report, which shows that wildlife conservation methods have yielded results. In the Lyme Bay marine protected area, for example, the number of species increased markedly since trawling was banned in 2008.
The RSPB’s Hope Farm also demonstrated that food production can function alongside measures to benefit wildlife as breeding bird populations increased by 177% over a 12-year period.
Dr Francesca Mancini, an ecological modeller from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, one of the report co-authors, said: “While the report shows there are declines in many wildlife populations, it is possible to reverse biodiversity losses through habitat restoration, sustainable agricultural practices and mitigating climate change, for example.
“Our findings will inform future conservation action to support species. Meanwhile, improvements in water quality of many of our rivers and lakes over the past 30 years has enabled recovery of some freshwater species.”
Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England, said: “Today’s report shines a spotlight on the continuing declines of many of our native species, a trend symptomatic of the overall health of nature and the wider environment in this country.
“If we are to get on track toward meeting our national target to become nature positive, then we are going to need a big step up in the way we treat and value nature.”
He added there were grounds for optimism, citing the Nature Recovery Network and Species Recovery Programme as steps forward, while conceding: “The truth is though that on its own this will not be enough, with every sector of society needing to play a role if we are to recover species abundance and reduce the risk of extinction, as the government has legally committed to doing.”
• This article was amended on 28 September 2023. An earlier version incorrectly implied that turtle doves were not birds.
