09 May

The UK is unlikely to meet its target to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030 without a clear government commitment to Biodiversity Net Gain and increased private investment, according to a new report from the Environmental Audit Committee. The cross-party committee has warned that plans for housing and infrastructure may prevent the UK from reversing biodiversity loss.

The Nature Friendly Farming Network and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) have called upon the government to significantly expand the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme – which provides support for multi-year projects that restore habitats while also improving soil health. They argue that expanding the scheme will be necessary to meet legally-binding targets to halt nature decline by 2030.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published its first International Environmental Protection report, outlining some of the most notable developments globally relate to climate change, soil degradation, and weather variability. The report has been met with concerns that several key international developments have been omitted.

The Environment Agency has warned farmers of a growing threat to agricultural water supplies following the driest start to spring since 1961. March was the driest in over six decades, prompting concerns over farm resilience and soil degradation due to a decline in water availability, which were also expressed in a new report from the Joint Research Centre this week.

A new report from the Sustainable Food Trust highlights the benefits to both soil and human health of food produced from animals raised on pasture, with a minimal use of chemical inputs, challenging the orthodoxy that livestock farming is always unsustainable and detrimental to climate and soil health.

Nearly a fifth of the world's agricultural land is contaminated by toxic metals, posing a serious threat to food security, public health, and ecosystems, according to a new global study. Researchers found that more than 14% - 17% of global cropland is affected by dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals.

Conservationists in the Peak District, alongside rangers at the National Trust, are working to  install special hessian matting impregnated with grass seed to tackle soil erosion on Mam Tor, caused by the millions of walkers that the ancient hillfort site attracts each year.