Nature restoration organisation Wild Moors has welcomed the Labour Party’s high level commitments on nature included in its manifesto launched on Thursday. Whilst more detail is required, the pledges have the potential to drive restoration of upland landscapes for the benefit of nature, the climate and people.

Labour has set out its ambition to tackle the intertwined crises of nature loss and climate change. To achieve this, the party has committed to protecting 30% of land and water for nature by 2030, alongside bread and butter commitments to achieve carbon net zero and halt biodiversity loss.

With nearly 4 million hectares of upland landscape across the country, ensuring these areas are sustainably managed and restored will be crucial to meeting Labour’s nature and climate objectives. The manifesto prioritises the restoration of important habitats in the uplands, such as peatlands and woodlands. Ensuring these are restored to good health is essential for biodiversity, carbon sequestration, natural flood management, improving water quality and making landscapes more resilient to wildfire risk.

Ensuring public land is managed with nature in mind is also central to Labour’s environmental ambitions. This is important for the future of those tracts of land in the uplands which are owned by and managed on behalf of the nation.

Labour has also promised to protect upland wildlife by banning the use of snare traps in England. The traps, which inflict severe suffering on captured wildlife and threaten biodiversity, have already been outlawed in Scotland and Wales.

Wild Moors eagerly awaits further details on Labour’s plans for nature and climate if the political party succeeds in forming the next government.