The UK Government is currently way off track on its own target to protect 30 per cent of its nature by 2030 - despite committing to this goal through an international deal agreed in Montreal in 2022.

There has been "little or no change" in the extent of land protected under the UK’s network of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and their condition in England has deteriorated, according to a report on the government’s progress towards its environmental targets published this week.

There was also a lack of appropriate monitoring of sites outside this network, which limited the extent to which progress could be measured, the report noted. The government’s plans to recover nature in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty had the potential to contribute to the 30 by 30 target, but action is too slow.