Ministers pledge £90m to help save birds, beavers and beetles from extinction

Ministers have pledged £90 million to protect hundreds of Britain’s most threatened native wildlife from extinction.

The funding, which the Department for the Environment (Defra) has called the largest ever investment in species conservation, will support efforts to reintroduce or support populations of birds, beavers, insects, snails, spiders and seahorses across the UK.

Hundreds of local projects will receive a share of £60 million over the next three years through Natural England’s species recovery programme, Defra said.

A further £30 million will also be allocated to saving species on England’s national forest land.

Environment Minister Emma Reynolds said: “This long-term commitment is a decisive step towards reversing the decline of nature and protecting it for future generations.”

The United Kingdom is one of the countries that consume the most nature in the world; researchers found that wildlife populations have fallen by a third since 1970 and one in six species is at risk of extinction.

Last year, green groups assessed that the UK was significantly off track in meeting a legally binding target to preserve 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030.

Defra said the funding increase will help support the Government’s mission to reverse declines in nature and meet statutory targets set out in its environmental recovery plan; These include halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and reducing the risk of species extinction to 2022 levels by 2042.

Under the species recovery programme, £60 million of funding will support conservation projects including habitat restoration as well as captive breeding and species reintroduction.

Our hope is that this will help tackle habitat loss in the UK, restore nature-rich landscapes and protect fragile ecosystems such as ancient woodlands and chalk streams.

Natural England will confirm which projects will receive funding from 2026 to 2029 in May, but early indications suggest the money will support actions focusing on a wide range of species.

This round’s funding is more than double that of the previous round; Between 2023 and 2026, the program has been allocated £32.2 million to support more than 600 species, including water voles, dormice and oystercatchers.

Tony Juniper, the organisation’s chief executive, said: “If there is one positive thing about species decline, it is that it is often reversible.

Natural England’s species recovery work has brought the rarest species back from the brink for decades, it said, citing red kites, lady’s slipper orchids, pond frogs and big blue butterflies.

“Through the proven winning mix of good science and effective partnerships, we know that many species can be brought to positive status.”

He said the new funding “will enable us to support more of the many initiatives being undertaken across the UK to halt and reverse the decline of our wonderful wildlife.”

Natural England says its species recovery program has helped protect more than 1,000 species and prevented at least 35 from national extinction.

The funding helped the first red-billed moor crow hatch in the wild in Kent for over 200 years, the black grouse was successfully reintroduced to the North Yorkshire Moors and the greater swamp locust returned to the Norfolk Broads after an 85-year absence.

The announcement comes after Defra announced a new campaign called “Wild Again: Bringing Back Britain’s Wildlife” as part of its efforts to protect and restore nature.