Britain is on the hunt for a new National Park, a mission to create 34 new landscape recovery projects, a wealth of new forests, and a boost in funding to help more children get outdoors and into the countryside.
This is, at least, what has been offered in the latest steps by the UK government in its drive to improve public access to the natural world and recover nature.
The series of nature pledges announced by the Environment Secretary, Steve Barclay, this week lands ahead of COP28 which gets underway in Dubai from today (November 30th). The search for a new National Park will begin in the New Year and will focus on looking for England’s ‘most beautiful nature spots, alongside the area’s ability to connect people with nature.’
This all makes up part of a Nature package that will include new funding for England’s most special placed, with a further £15 million pledged to support the country’s existing National Parks and National Landscapes.
Government will also announce 34 new Landscape Recovery projects across England which will cover over 200,000 hectares of land, including woodlands, rainforests, and sustainable food production. A further £2.5 million will go towards helping children experience the benefits of the outdoors and will build upon Generation Green, a project which has so far created around 115,000 opportunities for children in the last four years.
The UK Government says it will ‘continue to champion nature recovery’ as it heads into COP28 in the UAE this week, stating it will act to ‘set out further action to achieve our ambitious targets to restore our natural world.’
Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said: “Having more well connected and wildlife rich habitats is a central priority for meeting our Nature recovery ambitions. This includes enhancing landscapes, helping more species thrive, improving climate adaptation, and wellbeing for people.
“As we look ahead to COP28 it is timely to set out practical actions that reflect the deep connections between Nature and climate change. The wide-ranging measures announced today mark a positive step forward and we look forward to supporting the government in delivering them.”
Global Leaders at COP28
Now gathered in Dubai for the world’s latest UN Climate Conference, leaders from nearly 200 nations are set to agree on details for a running fund designed to help vulnerable countries deal with extreme weather due to global warming.
Marking a major breakthrough for the discussions and placing finance high on the agenda for COP28, the United Arab Emirates’ COP28 Presidency published a proposal on the eve of the summit for countries to formally adopt the outlines of a new UN fund to cover losses and damages in poorer countries being hit by disasters such as extreme flooding or persistent drought.
The European Union has pledged a ‘substantial’ contribution to the fund but is calling on countries with economies that have boomed in recent decades – like China and the UAE itself – to follow suit.
