Natural England is set to establish a species reintroductions task force, after it was announced by the Environment Secretary George Eustice.
Species reintroductions, alongside habitat restoration and greening of urban spaces, will form part of work to hit new legally binding biodiversity targets to reverse the decline of wildlife.
Natural England will be heading up the task force as secretariat, considering the reintroduction of species which have been lost to England – such as wildcat – and the introduction of declining species into new areas such as pine marten, dormice, corncrake, short-haired bumblebee and large blue butterfly.
This action is being taken to help populations recover and will make up part of the Nature Recovery Network (NRN).
It will bring together experts, landowners and NGOs to share knowledge, assess and prioritise species for reintroduction and to develop partnerships for delivering high quality projects.
‘A new target for nature recovery’
Natural England chair Tony Juniper, speaking at the launch with the Environment Secretary, welcomed the stronger measures to protect biodiversity through legally binding targets and the proactive approach to the restoration of native species to England, contributing to nature’s recovery at scale.
He said:
“A new target for nature recovery enshrined in law will be a powerful new driver for coordinated action, as was found on cutting greenhouse gas emissions following the passage of the Climate Change Act.
Meeting a stretching nature target can be done, so long as we can join up different policy areas, such as farming, housing development and infrastructure, while also improving overall environmental quality in terms of air and water pollution.
“Natural England stands ready to work across the government to help make it happen, including through the delivery of an ambitious Nature Recovery Network that will see not only the improvement of our vital protected areas, more green spaces and trees in towns and cities and the restoration of lost habitats, including woodland, wetland and heaths, but also the return of lost species,” he concluded.
