The Government’s new Environmental Improvement Plan sets out a clear and welcome direction for environmental policy. Its commitments to cleaner air, healthier river catchments, thriving wildlife and legally-binding long-term targets reflects a growing recognition that the condition of the natural environment is central to the country’s economic and social wellbeing. The renewed pledge to protect 30 per cent of the UK’s land and seas for nature by 2030 provides an important point of focus.
What distinguishes the plan from many of its predecessors is its emphasis on delivery. Investment in landscape recovery and habitat restoration is positioned not as an abstract ideal but as a practical means of improving the landscapes on which communities and society depend. The greater alignment of public funding with emerging private markets for carbon, biodiversity and water suggests a more durable model for environmental improvement.
The uplands are well placed to benefit from this approach. When well managed, they support a diverse range of habitats, from peatlands and clough woodlands to heathlands and ancient grasslands, and play a critical role in carbon storage, water quality and regulation and biodiversity. They also define the character of large parts of northern and south-west England, contributing to both regional identity and national resilience.
Many upland landscapes have suffered from long-term degradation, but this creates an opportunity rather than an obstacle. Restoration in these areas offers some of the greatest potential for environmental outcomes, helping to meet national targets while strengthening rural economies and improving downstream outcomes such as flood management and water quality.
There are already encouraging signs of progress. A growing number of landowners, including communities, conservation organisations, public bodies, companies and private individuals, are developing ambitious landscape-scale restoration projects. While still emerging, these initiatives demonstrate that environmental recovery can be both credible and scalable when supported by clear policy and incentives.
The Environmental Improvement Plan provides a framework capable of supporting this momentum. By offering greater certainty and a long-term policy horizon, it can enable landowners and land managers to take action with greater confidence and to integrate environmental outcomes into wider land-use decisions.
As with any strategy, the plan’s success will depend on sustained commitment and careful implementation. However, its focus on partnership working between government and landowners, blended investment in nature recovery and realistic outcomes suggests a more mature phase of environmental policy. If carried through effectively, it offers a realistic opportunity to restore the uplands and deliver lasting improvements to the natural environment on which much of the country relies.
