UK sets out biodiversity commitments to protect nature
Source: gov.uk (2025-02-26)

Commitments set out during conference as COP16 negotiations resume in Rome on delivering global nature goals

The UK has today (Wednesday 26 February) outlined its commitment to the implementation of UN COP15 biodiversity framework by publishing its National Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan (NBSAP) - showing how we intend to meet all the global targets and goals .

The resumed session of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) (https://www.cbd.int/article/reconvene-cop16-rome-2024) in Rome, Italy, will focus on unresolved items from Calì, Colombia in October 2024, including an international strategy to mobilise finance for nature and the mechanism to review global progress against the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

A partnership between Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, the NBSAP commits the UK to achieving all 23 of the Global Biodiversity Framework targets at home and outlines how its four countries will work together to fully implement each of these, including commitments to:
- Expand protected areas to at least 30% of the land and seas
- Reduce pollution from all sources to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity
- Enhance biodiversity and sustainability in agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry
- Ensure sustainable, safe and legal harvesting and trade of wild species
The NBSAP draws on commitments made by the UK, its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies – which make a significant contribution to global biodiversity – to summarise our collective ambition to work together to address biodiversity loss.

Achieving these goals to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 will be part of the global pathway towards a world living in harmony with nature by 2050.

Nature Minister Mary Creagh said:

“The UK continues to drive progress on nature protection and restoration both at home and across the world.

“It’s never been more important to tackle the nature and climate crises, and that’s why we will continue to press for concerted action to ensure full implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

“There is more work to do with our international partners, and the UK will be at the forefront of negotiations in Rome.”

Ruth Davis, the UK’s Special Representative for Nature, said:

“We need urgent action to address the nature crisis and that means working to halt biodiversity loss both internationally and at home.

“The launch of the NBSAP is a signal of the UK’s commitment to match international co-operation on nature with domestic activity to protect and enhance our natural world.

“We will continue to play our part in achieving our international nature targets, while working with other nations to make a difference across the globe.”

Natural England Chair Tony Juniper said:

“Nature underpins our economy, health and security. We rely on ecosystems for food, water and air, for resilience in the face of climate change and in sustaining our physical and psychological wellbeing.

”Just five years remain for us to meet the ambitious but critical Global Biodiversity targets agreed by world leaders at COP15. It is crucial that we ramp up action and work together to protect and restore our natural environment, including for the benefit of future generations.

“The Plan published today sets out how international commitments will translate into action on the ground across the UK and we look forward to working with government and our many partners to deliver what’s needed to recover nature.”

The Plan published today sets out how international commitments will translate into action on the ground, so that we can deliver the changes needed to recover nature.”

The UK is also supporting other countries to ensure that this global agreement is implemented, including by sharing technical and scientific expertise with partners all around the world, and supporting work to halt and reverse nature loss across the globe.

The Government is committed to protecting and restoring nature, and has launched a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement plan so that we can now meet our domestic and international targets and re-establish the UK as an international leader on the environment, as part of the Plan for Change.

We will honour the UK’s international commitments to deliver 30by30 – protecting 30% of the UK’s land and sea by 2030 – to ensure that at least 30% of the Earth’s land and ocean is being effectively conserved and managed by 2030, and to playing our part in achieving the global 30by30 target adopted at the UN Biodiversity Summit COP15 in December 2022.

Additional information:

Blueprint for halting and reversing biodiversity loss: the UK’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for 2030, jointly published by Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, summarises the UK’s response to the GBF to drive action at UK level to change the global picture.

In December 2022, 196 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity came together to agree the GBF, which consists of four goals and 23 targets, with the overall mission of halting and reversing biodiversity loss globally by 2030 to put nature on a path to recovery for the benefit of people and planet,

The UK will also support other countries to deliver the National Biodiversity Strategy, from sharing technical and scientific expertise with partners all around the world, to supporting work to halt and reverse nature loss across the globe.