UK Target 2: The UK will ensure that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.

Commitments: 

England

• We will restore or create over 500,000 ha of wildlife-rich habitat outside of protected sites by 31 December 2042, with an interim target to restore or create a total of 250,000 ha of a range of wildlife-rich habitats outside of protected sites by December 2030.
• We will ensure that 70% of designated features in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are in favourable condition by 2042, with the remainder in recovering condition, with an interim target to make sure at least 49% of MPA protected features are in favourable condition and at least 46% in recovering condition by December 2030.
• We will increase tree canopy and woodland cover to 16.5% of total land area in England by 2050, with an interim target to increase England’s tree canopy and woodland cover by 0.33% of land area by December 2030 from the 2022 baseline of 14.9% (equivalent to a net increase of 43,000 ha).
• We will ensure that by December 2030 50% of Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) features have actions on track by 2030 to achieve favourable condition.
• We will support farmers and land managers to create or restore 48,000 km of hedgerows by 2037 and 72,500 km of hedgerows by 2050.
• We will restore approximately 280,000 ha of peatland in England by 2050.
• By 2043, we will increase saltmarsh by 15% compared to 2009 levels, seagrass by 15% compared to 2024 levels, and create functional oyster reef habitat at ecosystem scales in five to eight suitable English water bodies

Scotland

• We will carry out a programme of ecosystem restoration.
• 21% of our land will be covered by forest, following increased funding of £150 million as well as our target of planting 18,000 ha per year by 2024/25.
• The extent of restored catchments and improvements in ecological status of rivers, lochs and wetlands will have increased, with waterbodies in good condition.
• We will restore over 250,000 ha of peatland with £250 million of investment over 10 years, protecting this significant carbon store, and restoring wetland habitats.
• We will publish a marine and coastal ecosystem restoration plan to accelerate active restoration of habitats and species across Scotland. 

Wales

• We will develop our approach for ecosystem restoration, helping to deliver the vision set out in our 30by30 framework. This includes recognising a network of sites on a restoration pathway towards the 30by30 target (Target 3).
• We will expand and scale up our Nature Networks Programme to improve the condition, connectivity and resilience of protected sites and the priority ecological networks between them – thus delivering both Global Biodiversity Framework Targets 2 and 3.
• We have tripled our peatland restoration targets from 600 to 1,800 ha per annum and will be increasing the delivery capacity of the National Peatland Action Programme so that by 2030, the programme will be delivering at a scale capable of reaching the net zero 2050 target of 45,000 ha of peatland restored.

• We will deliver a National Forest for Wales, which includes new areas of community woodlands in urban and rural areas. These will help to reduce people’s exposure to air pollution.
• We will secure ecological coherence across our network of MPAs and work to improve the management and condition of the network. The improvement, connectivity and resilience of marine ecosystems is supporting the long-term sustainability of our seas.
• We will continue to support the restoration of seagrass and saltmarsh habitats along our coastline.

Northern Ireland

• We will ensure that peatland restoration is significantly upscaled towards meeting a target of 63% of peatlands in Northern Ireland being restored by 2040.
• We will phase out the use of peat in horticulture to ensure better management of peatlands by 2030.
• We will ensure that 95% of the features underlying the designation of Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) are in, or approaching, favourable conservation condition by 2030.
• We will ensure that 85% of designated features in the Northern Ireland MPA network are in favourable condition, with 10% of the remainder in recovering condition by 2030.
• We will ensure that 30% of seas are protected, ensuring an ecologically coherent and well managed MPA network by 2030. We will deliver further work on ecological coherence across our network by designating new MPAs by 2028. 
• We will deliver the Northern Ireland Blue Carbon Action Plan by 2030 through the restoration of 30% of degraded habitats.

UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies 

The British Virgin Islands 

• We will develop a mangrove nursery in collaboration with the H. L. Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) to support a mangrove nursery that will help to restore Paraquita Bay and stabilise the coastline.
• By 2036, we will establish partnerships to assist with coral bleaching while continuing to replant and preserve mangroves and salt ponds.
• We will develop, finance and implement regional ecosystem restoration initiatives focussing on degraded areas and key ecosystems, especially those important for food and water security, as well as those critical for adaptation, mitigation and resilience to climate change and natural hazards. At least one of these initiatives should focus on the rehabilitation and restoration of freshwater ecosystems and associated wetlands.

The Falkland Islands

• We will investigate the potential for peatland restoration and frameworks around restoration.
• We will undertake land restoration as follows:

1. Undertake an initial restoration project on Stanley Common / Falkland Island Government (FIG)-owned land.
2. Identify sites that require restoration on FIG and Falklands Lands Holdings land more broadly, based on outcomes of biodiversity project and co-ordination with partners.
3. Prioritise sites for restoration.
4. Estimate resources (e.g. money, people, plants) required for restoration at identified sites.
5. Begin restoration at priority sites as soon as possible based on numbers 2–4.

• We will encourage responsible and ecological use of land and water, and make progress in restoring degraded land in public ownership.

Gibraltar

• We will create new habitats and restore degraded habitats to support and help wildlife thrive.

The Isle of Man

• By 2025, we aim to maintain and where necessary restore or enhance native biodiversity.
• We will continue to investigate and pilot landscape-scale initiatives to restore and conserve scarce or vulnerable habitats and their rare species, and by 2025 improve ecosystem resilience to climate change.
• By 2025, we will restore at least 16% of the area of degraded marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems.

England

• We will work with stakeholders to create and restore over 500,000 ha of wildlife-rich habitat outside of protected sites by 2042. Some of the action taken to meet targets for increasing woodland cover, peatland restoration and creating and restoring hedgerows will contribute to this habitat restoration and creation target.
• The Landscape Recovery scheme supports ambitious, long-term projects to deliver environmental and climate goods at a landscape-scale. Round 1 of Landscape Recovery supported 22 projects with development grants that collectively aim to restore over 600 km of rivers and target the conservation of over 260 flagship species such as water vole, lapwing, and great crested newt. Round 2 launched in spring 2023, with 34 projects focused on net zero and biodiversity being awarded development grants.
• The Species Survival Fund will help to drive the action we need to halt the decline in species, supporting projects to tackle habitat loss, safeguard our fragile ecosystems and create wildlife-rich habitats.
• The Nature for Climate Fund will make funding available by 2025 to spend on peatland restoration, woodland creation, woodland management and the growth of the forestry sector. This will enable more opportunities for farmers and landowners to support net zero through land use change.
• We will use the Nature Restoration Fund to pool developer contributions for environmental mitigations, allowing for strategic conservation measures at scale. In 2026, we will launch the first set of Environmental Delivery Plans to enable the roll-out of the fund.
• We will scale up and improve the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship schemes to encourage more farms to participate in the schemes.
• We will support farmers and land managers to manage wildlife-rich habitat using appropriate agri-environment options for the habitat type, so the habitat can stay, or become of, sufficient quality.
• We will protect Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Highly Protected Marine Areas by implementing fisheries management byelaws by the end of 2026, other fisheries measures by the end of 2028 and management measures for other damaging activities by the end of 2030.
• We will review England’s MPA network by the end of 2028.
• We will implement the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 and work toward targets under the UK Marine Strategy for Good Environmental Status.
• We will publish a Trees Action Plan in 2026 to set out how we will improve the resilience and condition of England’s trees, woods and forests.
• We will deliver up to 300,000 ha of wildlife-rich habitat creation and restoration by 2042 through agri-environment scheme agreements running since 2023. We will deliver up to 200,000 ha of peatland restoration and woodland creation.
• We will incentivise the planting of high-quality woodlands and trees outside of woodland with a further £816 million of funding between 2026–2027 and 2029–2030 financial years, including by continuing the England Woodland Creation Offer.
• We will improve the condition of ancient semi-natural woodland and restore plantations on ancient woodland sites back to semi-natural woodland habitat through our agri-environment schemes.
• We will deliver Protected Site Strategies for up to 12 sites – including the five current pilots – by March 2026 to restore and improve their condition, helping to address upstream environmental pressure such as pollution and habitat degradation. We will use this evidence to inform the rollout to other protected sites, including by updating relevant site condition assessments.
• We will legislate for a ban on the sale of peat and peat containing products when parliamentary time allows.
• We will publish the Peatland Restoration Register in 2026. The register will be a centralised geospatial record of restoration projects across England, allowing us to track progress and make it easier to identify peatland areas requiring restoration management.
• We will invest £85 million in improving and restoring our peatlands, supporting us in our long-term ambitions to unblock delivery for up to 23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) savings by 2050.
• We will lead Restoring Meadow Marsh and Reef, a practical initiative working with our partners towards a more resilient English coast by restoring, recovering and enhancing priority habitats such as seagrass, saltmarshes and native oyster reefs.

Scotland

• The Species on the Edge partnership programme run by NatureScot and seven nature conservation charities is dedicated to improving the fortunes of 37 priority species found along Scotland's coast and islands.
• Annual grants from our Water Environment Fund support the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to restore rivers in line with Scotland’s River Basin Management Plans.
• Scotland will continue to implement Scotland’s National Peatland Plan and allocate funding for restoration through the Peatland ACTION programme.
• Scotland will continue implementing its Forestry Strategy 2019–2029, including activity to improve the ecological condition and habitat quality of native forests and woodlands.

Wales 

• We will revise and strengthen the delivery of our Natural Resources Policy and our National Biodiversity Strategy (currently the Nature Recovery Action Plan) to reflect our Deep Dive recommendations and the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
• We will implement Wales’s National Peatland Action Programme, which has 6 priorities: 1. Peatland erosion; 2. Peatland drainage; 3. Sustainable management of blanket peats; 4. Sustainable management of lowland peats; 5. The restoration of afforested peatlands; and 6. The gradual restoration of our highest carbon-peatlands.
• We will deliver a National Forest for Wales, which includes new areas of community woodlands in urban and rural areas. These will help to reduce people’s exposure to air pollution.
• We will deliver the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Management Framework and Marine Protected Area Network Management Action Plan for Wales to secure ecological coherence across the MPA network.

Northern Ireland

• We will deliver the Northern Ireland Peatland Strategy to 2040, which provides a framework to guide the conservation and restoration of peatland habitats in Northern Ireland. Implementation of the strategy will also play an important role in our work in relation to biodiversity conservation, climate change and the wider Green Growth agenda.
• We will revise and strengthen our national biodiversity strategy (Nature Recovery Strategy) to allow us to prioritise those areas that are not sufficiently covered in the Environmental Improvement Plan for Northern Ireland, to properly address the GBF. 
• We will work with the Northern Ireland Species Recovery Partnership to deliver on Species Recovery Principles and 35 Species Action Plans to unlock greater long-term action at scale for species, including restoration of habitat.
• We will implement actions within the Northern Ireland Blue Carbon Action Plan 2025–2030 and the Marine Protected Areas Strategy for the Northern Ireland Inshore Region 2025–2030, which will contribute to the conservation, recovery and restoration of marine habitats.

UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies

The British Virgin Islands

• Vision 2036: Building a Sustainable Virgin Islands sets out an overall vision to have a well-balanced, people-centred Virgin Islands built on spirituality, social justice and equality; nurtured by trust, cultural knowledge and participatory governance; and strengthened by economic, environmental and social sustainability. One of the national outcomes of this policy is environmental sustainability.
• The Virgin Islands Strategic Blue Economy Roadmap 2020–2025 was developed with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It sets out an integrated approach to ocean-based sustainable development which brings together economy, environment and society, consistent with the Sustainable Development Agenda (2030), Aichi Target 11 and the Paris Agreement (the roadmap was developed before the GBF was agreed and is therefore consistent with the Aichi Targets agreed under the CBD for 2011–2020). 

The Falkland Islands

• The Falkland Islands Environment Strategy 2021–2040 sets out the Falkland Islands’ objectives for the next 20 years, so that we can work towards a shared vision for the future of our environment. 
• The Islands Plan 2022–2026 Delivery Plan sets out the blueprint for the Legislative Assembly and will stand as proof of the actions that we intend to take on behalf of generations to come.

Gibraltar

• Both the Gibraltar Nature Reserve Management Plan (for terrestrial ecosystems) and the Gibraltar Marine Reserve Management Plan recognise the importance of restoration and management activities to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
• Gibraltar’s Climate Change Strategy recognises the importance of nature-based solutions like restoring seagrass habitats.
• The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out Gibraltar’s long-term strategy for protecting and enhancing its environment over the next quarter century. It provides a structured framework to guide policy, planning and environmental management.

The Isle of Man 

• Managing our Natural Wealth, The Isle of Man's First Biodiversity Strategy 2015–2025 sets out a vision for the future health of our biodiversity, and maps out the framework for action to conserve and enhance our natural richness for the health, enjoyment and economic well-being of all the people of Isle of Man.

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 

• Protect Sustain Inspire (PSI) – A values-driven approach to the stewardship of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands 2021–2025 sets out the Islands’ seven priority areas for the period 2021 to 2025 and includes an overview of the range of activities and delivery commitments that will take priority. Delivering PSI – The Government’s Implementation Programme provides detail on the implementation programme for the PSI commitments beyond 2025.