Natural England publishes Habitat Target Evidence Report

Natural England has published its 2025 Evidence Report for the Environment Act Habitat Targets, which sets out current progress and the methodology for arriving at an accurate metric for reporting progress towards the Environment Act Habitat Target to “restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitats outside of protected sites by 31 December 2042.”

To produce the Report Natural England and Defra have worked alongside the Environment Agency, Defra Farming and Countryside Programme, the Forestry Commission, Forestry England and the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. Together, they have found that since January 2023 38,877 hectares of wildlife rich habitat have been created and restored. However, the Report makes sure to note that this figure does not include many multi-year schemes, or the totality of action people are taking towards restoring habitats, concentrating instead on those Defra schemes that are likely to deliver the most hectarage and have readily available data for robust reporting. This means that reported figure of 38,877 hectares is likely an underrepresentation of the real figure, making it difficult to know if Defra is on track to achieve its habitat targets. Despite this partial picture, the Report justifies that it is better to share the data that is available in a transparent manner to better determine pathways to achieving the final Environment Act habitat target.

The Report also helps to highlight which types of habitat are being created or restored the most; arable field margins, and the least; coastal/aquatic habitats, with Agri-environment schemes acting as the primary driver for the majority of habitat target delivery so far.

This Report is an important first step in achieving the Environment Act’s habitat targets, allowing Natural England and Defra to evaluate current progress, and identify areas of weakness. The Report also shows that progress is being made, and that if the current trends are not disrupted, but instead supported, habitat targets can be delivered, restoring our nature, growing our economy and providing better access to green spaces.