The proposed nature recovery target lacks ambition. Current proposals are aiming for just 10% more nature in 2042 than 2030 levels – by which time the state of our natural world is expected to have declined even further.

This could mean that wildlife is less abundant by 2042 than it is now. The Wildlife Trust movement are stressing that this falls short of the UK Government’s promise to leave nature in a better state than it is now.

The UK is already one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. 41% of species are in decline and 15% are at risk of extinction.

In Cheshire alone, just 10% of land in protected for nature. Cheshire Wildlife Trust say that this figure must be tripled by 2030. Reaching this goal means doubling the region’s woodlands, restoring all drained peatlands, tripling wetlands, and creating 10,000 football pitches worth of species-rich meadows.

James Melling, from Cheshire Wildlife Trust, says:

“We need to be taking nature back to its heyday and that means turning back the clock on decades of sharp declines in nature. At best, the Government’s suggested targets will, make nature little better than it is now when nature is at an all-time low.

“Nature is in decline nationally and that’s leading to regional extinctions of species here in Cheshire. In the last decade, the small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly has already gone extinct in our region. Are we going to let water voles and willow tits go the same way?”

“Today’s generation of children are unlikely to see anywhere near the amount and variety of species that their grandparents saw in their youth. For the sake of future generations, we’re urging everyone to sign our petition calling for stronger targets to put us on a path towards a Wilder Cheshire.”

Add your voice to the Wildlife Trusts campaign for stronger targets to help nature recover here: wildlifetrusts.org/nature-deserves-better. Over 35,000 have already signed the petition across the country.