Tag: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 16 December 2022.

The UK will continue as Chair of the Global Ocean Alliance as it calls for more ambition to meet the 30by30 ocean pledge.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey today urged more countries to join the more than 120 nations who already support the pledge to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

Speaking as global leaders came together to tackle the global biodiversity crisis at the UN Conference of Biological Diversity (CBD) CO15 in Montreal, Canada, the Environment Secretary led calls for more ambitious and meaningful outcomes for ocean protection and confirmed the UK will renew its role as Chair of the Global Ocean Alliance beyond COP15.

By continuing in this role, the UK will remain as a leading voice in pushing for ambitious ocean action and the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework in the marine environment.

It comes as Defra announced that £20 million in grants – worth between £250,000 and £3 million – will be made available to local organisations around the world to help tackle illegal fishing and fight marine pollution, as well as sustainably managing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and protecting rare habitats and species.

Alongside this, the UK will contribute a further £17 million of aid from the Blue Planet Fund to the World Bank’s PROBLUE programme, bringing total UK support to PROBLUE to £25 million. To date, PROBLUE has helped over 100 projects in more than 70 countries, including supporting the ASEAN regional plastic waste trade, and India’s transition to a regulated sustainable fishery regime.

Speaking at the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 during IOC-UNESCO Ocean Action Day, Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:

It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of a healthy, safe, sustainably used ocean for millions of people all around the world.

I’m delighted to confirm that the UK will continue as Chair of the Global Ocean Alliance where we are committed to securing the maximum possible ambition and achieving the greatest possible impact to put nature on a road to recovery and help us protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030.

The UK’s £500 million Blue Planet Fund supports developing countries to protect the marine environment and reduce poverty. Initial investment of £20 million for OCEAN (Ocean Community Empowerment And Nature), a new competitive grants programme, will support innovative proposals from in-country organisations that secure healthy marine ecosystems and reduce overfishing. They will also ensure communities have increased capacity to manage marine pollution.

PROBLUE, a World Bank Multi-Donor Trust Fund, supports projects around the world that focus on the sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture. The UK Government’s investment will help address marine pollution, support the development offshore renewable energy and help governments around the world to better manage their marine and coastal resources. Since its launch, PROBLUE has provided support to over 100 projects in more than 70 countries.

Pitcairn Islands in focus

The UK Government’s leadership on ocean protection extends across the globe, as new survey findings from Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) and Blue Abacus has today revealed.

The Pitcairn Islands, a UK Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean, are home to one of the world’s largest Marine Protected Areas (MPA) – three-and-a-half times the size of the UK. Its waters are some of the most remote and understudied in the world and contain rare and endangered species.
Established as a no-take zone in 2019, Pitcairn’s MPA area prohibits commercial fishing, drilling and other extractive activities. Shark fishing was also banned in 2018.

A two-week expedition in 2021 funded by the UK Government’s Blue Belt Programme uncovered key findings on rare species like sharks and humpback whales, in addition to the impacts of climate change on coral reefs. Key findings include:

• Sharks were observed in over half (66%) of all the underwater surveys, with multiple species (such as Grey Reef shark, Galapagos shark and the Whitetip Reef Shark) observed in half (51%). It suggests that the ban on shark fishing has had an impact in supporting healthy shark populations, which are higher than the global average (it is estimated that sharks have disappeared from a quarter of the world’s reefs).
• Six individual humpback whales were seen on the seabed with many more recorded from surface observations, including mothers and their calves. The age of the calves indicates that the whales are using the Pitcairn MPA as a calving and nursery ground safe from human activities and threats.
• A total of 7,319 individual fish were recorded from 203 different species, including endemic fish species, such as the many-spined butterflyfish (Hemitaurichthys multispinosus).

Simeon Archer Rand, Senior Marine Advisor at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), commented:

The results of this landmark survey are a significant success for the Pitcairn Islands. This community in the Pacific Ocean is guardian of one of the world’s largest no-take Marine Protected Areas, providing a sanctuary for marine life in the vast Pacific Ocean. The island has strong cultural links to the ocean and its passion to protect it is clearly shown in its actions.

Since 2016 we in the Blue Belt Programme have assisted the island community to further their ability to monitor their marine environment, as well as strengthen the governance of the invaluable MPA.

The survey data collected will help Pitcairn to effectively manage the MPA, ensuring these key habitats are protected into the future. But there is still a lot to learn. We are just beginning our journey in terms of understanding this globally important region.

From 2016 until March 2022, the Blue Belt Programme has been supported by £35 million of UK Government funding, with a further £8 million committed this financial year until March 2023.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 16 December 2022.

Targets to protect our environment, clean up our air and rivers and boost nature have been published.

Legally binding targets to protect our environment, clean up our air and rivers and boost nature have been published today (Friday 16 December) following extensive consultation as part of the government’s commitment to leave the environment in a better state for future generations.

Together they will drive forward action to tackle climate change, restore our natural capital and protect our much-loved landscapes and green spaces.

The Government will publish its Environmental Improvement Plan in January 2023 setting out in more detail how we will achieve these targets, including interim targets.

Publication of the targets today follows three years of detailed consideration of the scientific and economic evidence, which was published in March 2022, to inform draft targets. A comprehensive consultation on these was run earlier this year which saw over 180,000 responses from a range of individuals, businesses and other organisations.

Sitting at the heart of the government’s Environment Act, the targets require us to:

• Halt the decline in species populations by 2030, and then increase populations by at least 10% to exceed current levels by 2042
• Restore precious water bodies to their natural state by cracking down on harmful pollution from sewers and abandoned mines and improving water usage in households
• Deliver our net zero ambitions and boost nature recovery by increasing tree and woodland cover to 16.5% of total land area in England by 2050
• Halve the waste per person that is sent to residual treatment by 2042
• Cut exposure to the most harmful air pollutant to human health – PM2.5
• Restore 70% of designated features in our Marine Protected Areas to a favourable condition by 2042, with the rest in a recovering condition.

Our world-leading target to halt the decline in species abundance will be followed by a target to reverse that decline, alongside a further target to reduce the risk of species extinction. This will be supported by our target to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, which will also help the UK to meet its international commitment to protect 30% of its land and ocean by 2030.

Targets to cut harmful pollution reaching our rivers will help achieve our ambition for more water bodies to be in their natural state, with an 80% cut in total phosphorus pollution from wastewater treatments by 2038 helping to safeguard our waterways.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey, speaking at the UN Convention in Montreal today, said:

We are committed to leaving our natural world in a better state for future generations, and today we are laying the foundations that will help deliver on this commitment.

These targets are ambitious and will be challenging to achieve – but they will drive our efforts to restore our natural environment, protect our much-loved landscapes and green spaces and marine environment, as well as help tackle climate change.

Marian Spain, chief executive of Natural England, said:

The message is clear: without the ambitious targets to tackle climate change and reverse the long-term decline in Nature, we will be unable to sustain the ecosystems on which we rely for our health and our prosperity.

We therefore welcome today’s publication of the statutory targets needed to put Nature recovery at the heart of the government’s priorities. With the first targets only eight years away, we are already working with the government and with businesses, land managers and environmental charities through the Nature Recovery Network Partnership to ensure that we are on track to turn around England’s loss of nature and deliver the ambitions set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan.

The UK is an international leader on the environment and nature. We have created or restored plant and wildlife habitats the size of Dorset, we are investing more than £750 million in the environment through our Nature for Climate Fund, and we have established a network of marine protected areas across 130,000 square miles of English waters. But we want and need to do more, as these targets demonstrate.

Under the UK’s Climate COP Presidency, 145 countries – representing over 90% of the world’s forests – signed a pledge to halt deforestation and land degradation by 2030.

The announcement comes as environment ministers participate in the high level segment of  COP15 in Montreal  to agree an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework. Countries like the UK are seeking to build support for the adoption of a robust framework including the target to protect 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030. Yesterday the UK announced its participation in the Donor Joint Statement which commits billions of new finance annually from international donors to close the nature finance gap.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 16 December 2022.

45,000 visas for seasonal workers will be available for businesses next year, the Government confirmed today, providing a boost for the UK’s horticulture industry.

The allocation will allow businesses to recruit foreign workers to come to the UK for up to six months through the Seasonal Worker visa route – an uplift of 15,000 compared to what was available to businesses at the start of 2022. This number will be kept under review with the potential to increase by a further 10,000 if necessary, and contingent on sponsors and growers improving and abiding by to worker welfare standards, including ensuring workers are guaranteed a minimum number of paid hours each week.

The first 4,000 visas will be made available to operators next week to ensure that daffodil growers have the labour available for their harvest at the start of the year

The changes will provide certainty for farmers in a boost to British food production and help to tackle the labour shortages and rising input costs which have been affecting countries all around the world.

Alongside expanding the number of visas available, the government will be appointing new scheme operators to help with the efficient operation of the visa route and help safeguard worker welfare. A new team will also focus on ensuring sponsors are abiding by workers’ rights by improving training and processes for compliance inspectors and creating clear policies and guidance for robust action for scheme operators where workers are at risk of exploitation.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said:

Seasonal labour has long been part of the UK’s rural economy, and while it is right that we offer long term support to increase the use of domestic labour, we also need to support businesses on the back of what has been a challenging year for food producers.

That’s why we’ve listened to the UK’s horticulture sector, and today’s announcement will provide our growers with the labour they need to bring in the harvest and continue to put their produce on our tables.

More widely, the Government is taking action to encourage all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers. To help with these efforts, Defra is working with industry and DWP to raise awareness of career opportunities within the food and drink sector among UK workers.

The Government is also working to boost automation in the food sector, with £12.5 million recently announced to boost the development of automation and robotic technologies on farms, part of the wider £270 million Farming Innovation Programme to support research and development in agriculture and horticulture. Defra will also respond shortly to the recommendations of a review of automation in horticulture which was published earlier this year.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 15 December 2022.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 15 December 2022.

At COP15 in Montreal today (15 December), the international donor community came together and committed billions of dollars to support the protection and restoration of the natural world.

The commitment, announced through the Donor Joint Statement, represents a major breakthrough in addressing the twin challenges of climate change and nature loss as the world sees mass species extinctions and habitat loss accelerate at an alarming rate.

Donors have committed to substantially increase their investment by 2025, which will be used to align financial flows from public and private sources to the restoration of nature.

Donor commitments include:

In line with the 50% increase of its annual contribution to GEF-8, the Netherlands announced its commitment to increase its total biodiversity-related development finance by 50% in 2025, resulting in a target of $150 million for 2025.

Spain intends to double its international funding for biodiversity, aiming to dedicate at least 550 million € of its Official Development Aid for biodiversity over the period 2021-2025.

Canada will provide a new contribution of $350 million to support developing countries – home to the vast majority of the world’s biodiversity – to advance conservation efforts. This funding will support the implementation of the future Global Biodiversity Framework.
Donors also reaffirm significant financial commitments made in the run up to Convention on Biological Diversity, COP15. The UK intends to meet its existing commitment of £3bn finance for climate change solutions that protect, restore, and sustainably manage nature as previously stated from 2021-2026.

France has announced it would double its international finance for biodiversity to reach EUR 1 billion per year by 2025, Germany will increase its international biodiversity funding to EUR 1.5 billion by 2025, as part of the increase of its international climate budget to 6 billion euro annually by 2025 at the latest and the European Commission has pledged EUR 7 billion for biodiversity over 2021-27, in particular for the most vulnerable countries.

Other donors Australia, Japan, the United States and Norway have also made significant commitments in the Donor Joint Statement.
These commitments will support developing countries who host much of the most important biodiversity worldwide, to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework once agreed, including protecting 30% of the world’s land and ocean.

In addition, 11 philanthropies have come together to form the Protecting Our Planet challenge and have doubled their support for nature conservation to $5 billion ahead of the COP15. With a strong COP15 outcome philanthropic leaders have indicated they will substantially increase their contributions further. Multilateral development banks are also stepping up and committing to increase their finance for biodiversity and support countries in delivering the new deal for nature being negotiated in Montreal.

These announcements respond to the 10 Point Plan for Financing Biodiversity, developed by the UK, Ecuador, Gabon and the Maldives to increase international development finance for nature as part of a comprehensive plan to finance nature recovery globally.

Forty countries have now announced their support for the plan, which sets out an ambitious and credible blueprint for closing the biodiversity finance gap. This agreement not only calls for greater mobilisation of domestic resources but for better alignment of financial flows with the Global Biodiversity framework to support nature recovery.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:

A healthy and thriving natural environment underpins the social and economic prosperity of our livelihoods, which is why it is pivotal for the international community to put nature on the road to recovery.

The 10 Point Plan provides a clear vision for action, and I welcome the strong response to the plan from the international community with this significant increase in international public finance to protect our planet’s biodiversity hotspots”.

The announcement was made at an event held during the High-Level Segment, where Environment Ministers from around the world attend negotiations at COP15. Leaders from government, international financial institutions and civil society joined the event which outlined why ambitious, global action is needed to bridge the gap in financing biodiversity loss.

The UK hosted the event alongside Gabon, Ecuador and the Maldives, the key signatories of the 10 Point Plan for Financing Biodiversity. This landmark framework responds to calls from low and lower-middle income countries for additional international aid to enable them to better protect nature.

It commits the international community to create just transition in the economy to benefit the communities embedded in nature, the removal of subsidies which are harmful to biodiversity and the use of public and private investment to mobilise domestic resources, including green infrastructure and nature-based solutions.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 13 December 2022.

Further £12.5 million for projects focused on cutting-edge agriculture and horticulture innovation to boost productivity, reduce labour demands, and create more sustainable farming practices.

Ahead of its launch in January, Defra has today published guidance for the third round of the Farming Futures Research and Development Fund competition focusing on agriculture and robotics.

In partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Defra will match-fund projects which will boost productivity and sustainable farming practices through the development of automation and robotic technologies on farm.

The fund aims to bring together agri-food businesses and researchers to address strategic and sector-wide challenges through transformative solutions. Previously funded projects have included fruit scouting robots, automated vegetable harvesters and new types of fertiliser.

Farmers, growers, businesses and researchers are being invited to apply for a share of £12.5 million, with grants for projects worth between £500,000 and £1.5 million available.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said:

This is an exciting opportunity for farmers and growers to come together with businesses and researchers to invent ingenious solutions to the problems our agriculture and horticulture sectors face.

Automation and robotics has huge potential to improve productivity and sustainability and by supporting some of the most promising ideas to get off the ground we are investing in a successful agriculture and horticulture industry for generations to come.

Katrina Hayter, Industrial Strategy Challenge Director – Transforming Food Production at UKRI, said:

Innovation through automation and the use of game-changing technology is one of the central pillars of a future food system in the UK. The ability to plan, monitor, alert and review through digital systems brings substantial benefits to farmers and growers – from animal and crop health through to optimising harvest, waste reduction and environmental impact.

The competition will consider ideas for bringing forward this technology, and also look at how automation can support necessary farm labour, making roles more effective and productive for all involved. With such opportunity, we look forward to studying the new concepts within the applications, and to supporting some of the best and brightest ideas in bringing their projects to the next stage.

This investment forms part of our £270m Farming Innovation Programme, which was launched in October 2021. More than £70 million has been spent so far on industry-led research and development in agriculture and horticulture.

Applications can be submitted from 9 January 2023, and project leads should be UK-registered businesses of any size while farmers can participate as part of a wider consortium.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 12 December 2022.

Projects awarded funding in the latest round of the Fisheries Industry Science Partnership (FISP) scheme.

Five pioneering research projects have been awarded over £3.5 million to gather vital evidence to inform how we manage our fisheries and protect marine habitats across the UK.

Successful projects include the University of Plymouth Enterprise Ltd who will collaborate with organisations including the Angling Trust and Professional Boatman’s Association to collect crucial data to help protect species vulnerable to overfishing such as sharks, skates, rays and black bream. Participating boats will tag and track 200 black bream and 100 rays and sharks to shed light on their complex life histories and help ensure the sustainability and survival of these important species.

Meanwhile Bangor University, in partnership with the British Geological Survey, Orkney Fisheries Association and Welsh Fisherman’s Association, have been granted nearly £400,000 to investigate the impacts of climate change on the common whelk. The research will look at how temperature changes and location can impact on the growth, distribution and survivability of this commercially valuable species.

All the projects are from the third round of the Fisheries Industry Science Partnership (FISP) scheme, part of the government’s landmark £100m UK Seafood Fund investment, which brings together the seafood industry with research organisations to improve knowledge and data and help manage and protect often rare and valuable species.

Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer said:

A proper understanding of important marine species is vital if we are to manage our fisheries sustainably and safeguard the fishing and seafood sector for future generations.

By drawing on the expertise of the fishing community and combining this with our world class researchers, we can discover new ways to manage our stocks and protect vulnerable fisheries.

Dr Emma Sheehan, Associate Professor of Marine Ecology at the University of Plymouth, said:

The UK’s coastal waters are rich and diverse environments home to a huge range of important species. However, many of them are vulnerable to overfishing and exploitation which poses real challenges from both a conservation and an economic perspective. These projects will build on our previous work alongside fishing communities and authorities, and gather much needed data about critically important species such as pollack, black bream, sharks, skates and rays. By studying where they live, and why, we can develop more effective ways of managing their habitats sustainably now and in the future.

In addition, the fourth and final round of the FISP scheme opened last week to eligible applicants and runs until midday on 19 January 2022. Projects which involve a partnership between research organisations and a member of the UK seafood industry are encouraged to bid for funding by visiting GOV UK.

The £100m UK Seafood Fund was set up to support the long term future and sustainability of the UK fisheries and seafood sector and provides funding under four pillars: science and innovation, infrastructure, skills and training, and export support.

Last month also saw the second round of the UK Seafood Fund Infrastructure scheme open to applicants. With £30 million of funding now available to help pay for upgrades to ports, processing and aquaculture facilities, these schemes are ensuring the sector is equipped to meet future demand. A further round of the infrastructure scheme is set to open in 2023 to support fleet modernisation in the wild catching sector, with another future round focusing on the recreational fishing sector.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 9 December 2022.

The UK has reached agreements with the EU and Norway, and wider coastal states, to secure valuable fishing opportunities for the UK fishing industry.

The UK has secured fishing catch limits worth £202 million to the UK fishing industry, a £33 million increase from last year, after reaching an agreement with Norway and the EU, Defra has announced today (Friday 9 December).

Negotiating as an independent coastal State, the UK agreed catch levels for 2023 for six important fish stocks in the North Sea including North Sea cod, haddock and herring.

This comes as the UK also concluded negotiations on catch limits with coastal States in the North East Atlantic on three more key stocks to the UK fishing fleet – blue whiting, mackerel and atlanto-Scandian herring. In total, UK quota in these stocks will be worth around £256m to the UK fishing industry next year.

Sustainability has been at the heart of the UK’s approach to these negotiations, pushing for decisions based on the best science available to ensure key fish stocks are protected and to support the long-term viability of the UK fishing industry. All catch levels were set in line with, or lower than, the level advised by scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer said:

I’m pleased we have reached agreements with the EU and Norway, and wider coastal states, to secure important fish stocks worth over £450 million for the UK fishing fleet in 2023.

The deals will help support a sustainable, profitable fishing industry for years to come while continuing to protect our marine environment and vital fishing grounds.

The catch levels agreed for North Sea stocks for 2023 (compared to 2022) are:

• Cod +63%
• Haddock +30%
• Herring -7.3%
• Plaice +5.8%
• Saithe +18.7%
• Whiting +30%

Last month, the UK reached an agreement with Norway, with the UK fleet benefiting from fishing opportunities worth £5 million. Further talks with the EU are continuing over the total allowable catches and other stock management measures

Throughout the negotiations, the UK Government worked closely with the devolved administrations to ensure that fishing communities across the UK will benefit from the agreement.

An assessment on the number of individual Total Allowable Catches set consistent with ICES advice will be published on the conclusion of the UK’s annual fisheries negotiations.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 7 December 2022.

The United Kingdom Government is set to lead a coalition of high ambition countries in crucial UN talks with the aim of halting species extinctions and biodiversity loss.

The UK Government is today (7 December) calling on the world to unite and agree a deal that delivers for nature and ends species extinction.

The 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) is taking place in Canada from today until 19th December. The meeting will set the framework for the next decade of global action on biodiversity loss.

We are losing nature around the world faster than ever before, with more than 1 million species at risk of extinction, and there is stark evidence of habitat loss as coral reefs, rainforests and peatlands reduce in numbers globally. Nature is the foundation of our livelihoods, supporting food production, economic prosperity and security.

The UK has already led the way in driving action to tackle these challenges and is a global leader on the environment and nature. Under the UK’s COP Presidency, 145 countries – representing over 90% of the world’s forests – signed a pledge to halt deforestation and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and rural transformation. At home, we have introduced the Environment Act which delivers a raft of measures to protect our rivers, tackle deforestation and preserve habitats, and will be backed up by a set of legally binding targets due to published soon. This government has also committed £750 million of nature for climate funding to restore peatlands, drive tree planting, and create wildlife rich habitat.

Hosting a reception with prominent environmentalists at the Natural History Museum (Wednesday 7 December), the Environment Secretary will reiterate the importance of reaching a robust agreement to restore and conserve nature at this year’s summit and set out the UK’s role in helping drive this.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey is expected to say:

After two years of intensive global effort towards making ambitious environment targets, it is vital that the world agrees to tackle together the decline in nature and habitats and set out a road to recovery.

WWF Chief Executive Tanya Steele said:

COP15 is about saving our own life support system.  Nature is the source of our health, security and prosperity but WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022 revealed the sheer scale of its loss, with an average 69% decline in the size of global wildlife populations since 1970.

The stakes are high, and time is running out.  This summit is a chance the world must not miss to agree a global deal to reverse nature loss by 2030. World leaders must deliver a landmark agreement for nature to bring our world back to life.”

At the conference, the UK will negotiate to:

• Halt and reverse biodiversity loss
• Protect 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030.
• Halt species extinctions
• Increase the mobilisation of resources from all sources to fund the global effort to halt nature loss
• Eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies
• Align all financial flows with the goals and targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework
• Agree mechanisms for holding countries to account for implementing the framework
• Share benefits that arise from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources.

The UK government is also pledging today to launch a new multi-million fund next spring as a key part of our plan to help halt and reverse species decline in England. The new funding will support habitat creation and ecosystem restoration, including in England’s most special sites for nature, and support delivery of our own ambitious commitments at home, including our legally binding 2030 species target and ‘30by30’ pledge.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 4 December 2022.

The economic value of individual trees planted outside of our forests and woodlands has been revealed for the first time today (Sunday 4 December) at £3.8 billion. The figures are revealed in a new groundbreaking study published by Forest Research and Defra as part of National Tree Week.

Trees outside woodlands are defined as single trees in urban and rural areas and are some of the most iconic trees in our landscape, ranging from the classic, spreading hedgerow to the single trees lining our streets, making up almost a quarter of trees in Great Britain.

The valuation is based on the important role they play in sequestering and storing carbon, regulating temperatures, strengthening flood resilience and reducing noise and air pollution. Together, these help to mitigate against climate change, reducing damage to infrastructure and people from the impact of flooding, cooling our cities in summer and improving health and wellbeing.

By quantifying their significant value, the report will help to incentivise councils, land managers and local communities to plant more trees outside of woodlands for the varied and numerous benefits they provide. As outlined in our England Trees Action Plan, this will contribute to wider Government efforts to treble planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament and achieve net zero by 2050.

Forestry Minister Trudy Harrison said:

Today’s groundbreaking research reaffirms the unique value of non-woodland trees which exist all around us – from the trees lining our streets to those dotted around our beautiful countryside.

It makes clear the immense environmental and economic value and benefits trees bring to society which cannot be underestimated. As set out in our England Trees Action Plan, we have committed to trebling tree planting rates in England by 2024 and by quantifying the significant value of trees, this research will help to incentivise planting in our communities across our country.

Kieron Doick, Head of the Urban Forest Research Group, Forest Research said:

Trees outside of woodlands are all around us: in our gardens, along our roads, in our parks and open green spaces. Understanding their value can help make sure councils and landowners invest in the planting of more trees, and their aftercare so that they may continue to provide us with their abundant beauty and benefit.

While our valuation of non-woodland trees is substantial, we recognise that our research valued just a handful of the many benefits that trees provide. Future research will allow greater understanding and increased values as more of the benefits are included.

Our report shows that trees are valuable infrastructure assets across multiple land uses, much as one might think about lampposts or drains. Moreover, it highlights the much greater role of mature trees in delivering benefit to society – in comparison to their younger counterparts.

Richard Stanford, Chief Executive, Forestry Commission, said:

This first-of-its-kind research demonstrates the dynamism of trees outside woodlands – from tackling many of the prevailing issues of our time, like air quality and climate change, to damping down noise and helping people to get a better night’s sleep.

This landmark report will inform the continued rollout of our England Trees Action Plan and be instrumental to future policymaking. Continuing to make informed decisions based on robust scientific evidence will help us to realise the numerous environmental, economic and social benefits that trees provide – now and in the future.

The report also estimates the Natural Capital Value of non-woodland trees to be between £68.5 billion and £151.5 billion, in 2020 prices. This represents the value of the trees over the course of a century and provides a useful means of comparison to other natural assets.

In 2021/22, over half a million trees were planted outside of woodlands thanks to Government grants, such as the Urban Tree Challenge Fund, boosting deprived urban areas; the Local Authority Treescapes Fund accelerating tree planting in local communities; and the Levelling Up Parks Fund which helps people across England to benefit from spending time in nature.