The State of Nature Report (UK)

You may have heard of the State of Nature report in conversation or in a lecture or a newspaper article but may not have looked into it further. Here we save you the trouble of reading the entire document with a bit of an overview as to what it is and why it’s important.

There are several similar reports looking at biodiversity across different regions, but here we are looking specifically at the UK’s 2023 State of Nature Report. It is comprehensive, meaning it covers a huge range of taxonomic groups to thoroughly analyse UK biodiversity. It was commissioned by a collaborative group of over 60 different organisations from the research and conservation sector including Natural England, the National Trust, Wildlife Trusts, British Trust of Ornithology, RSPB and many more. The report uses data from monitoring and recording schemes across the country and British Crown Dependencies, collected and collated by thousands of volunteers and skilled ecologists. The aim of the report is to provide an overview into the status of our wildlife compared to historical data, and to give recommendations for the future.

Photo by Fran Anderson

The State of Nature Report found that 1500 species are at risk of extinction across the UK. That is 1 in 6 species. Broken down, this is a huge 43% of birds, 31% of herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians), 59% of bryophytes (mosses, liverworts and hornworts), 28% of fungi and lichens, 54% of flowering plants and 26% of terrestrial mammals. In the invertebrate group, pollinators have decreased by 18%, and insects associated with crop pest control have decreased by 34%.

Habitats have also been found to be struggling. Only 1 in 7 habitats that were assessed were found to be in a “good” condition. This included only 7% of woodlands, and 0% of the sea floor. Invertebrates have been found in 13% fewer locations than they were in 1970.

Photo by Fran Anderson

We are strongly dependent on the natural environment. We rely on it for clean water, for the air we breathe, the food sources that we farm and eat. The microbes in our soils need to be looked after as well as the crops themselves in order for our food sources to be secure. Due to the loss of biodiversity the UK is currently vulnerable to environmental hazards such as flooding, landslides and drought, which affect people in an even more obvious way. We need to remember that species interact through complex webs of relationships. If any reduce in number, or disappear entirely, this can easily impact entire ecosystems in ways you would not predict.

The reasons behind nature’s decline include climate change, unsustainable fishing, changes to farming practices and urban development. Similar threats are facing habitats and taxonomic groups from around the world, with land use changes affecting nearly 90% of threatened species. Climate change is predicted to increasingly impact species and habitats as global temperatures warm and population extents alter.

Photo by Eva Basnett

Understanding the biodiversity we have left is essential in knowing what needs to happen in order to protect the environment. This comes through monitoring schemes. We need improvements to survey method consistency across research to enable studies to be comparable to each other. This will allow us to be aware of changes to populations, and to see if conservation projects are having positive impacts.

There has been some improvement. There are now 50% more sustainable fish stocks and 44% more sustainably managed woodlands compared to 20 years ago. Support has also risen for farming methods which are friendly to nature, however only 20% of farmland is currently in an agri-environment scheme (schemes that incentivize farms that manage their land in a way that promotes biodiversity). Some things are improving, though the report emphasizes this needs to be occurring at a much wider scale to have a real impact on biodiversity loss.

The 2023 State of Nature Report highlighted the ongoing declines of our wildlife populations and solidified the UK’s position as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. We now have a better understanding than ever before of the state of our wildlife, and what is needed to save it. The next step is to act.

Title photo by Jack Hague