Habitat creation and restoration Environment Act target delivery plan

Statutory Environment Act targets 

• restore or create in excess of 500,000 hectares (ha) of a range of wildlife-rich habitats outside of protected sites by 2042 

Restoring and creating habitat will also support 3 other statutory Environment Act targets: 

• halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 

• increase species abundance so that by 2042 it is greater than in 2022 and at least 10% greater than in 2030 

• improve the Red List Index for England for species extinction by 2042 compared to 2022 levels 

Creating and restoring wildlife-rich habitat at scale is essential for improving species abundance and reducing the risk of extinction. Wildlife needs high-quality, connected habitats to thrive. Creating and restoring wildlife-rich habitat helps reduce fragmentation and strengthen ecosystem resilience, supporting long-term species recovery. 

Guidance on what counts towards the statutory habitat target is available in the Environment Act habitat target definitions and descriptions paper (TIN219). This document explains how the interim and statutory habitat targets are defined and measured. 

Habitat creation and restoration will support our international commitment to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030. It will also support other Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) goals, such as water (Goal 3) and climate change (Goal 7). Delivery across the EIP is interdependent, for example, wetland restoration can support both water quality and wildlife habitat, while improving water quality can reduce pressure on freshwater ecosystems. 

Other Environment Act targets also support the habitat targets. For example, 100,000ha of the statutory tree canopy and woodland cover target is expected to contribute to the statutory wildlife-rich habitat target (see tree canopy and woodland cover target delivery plan). 

Interim target 

• restore or create 250,000ha of a range of wildlife-rich habitats outside of protected sites by December 2030 

Rationale for the interim target: why and how it will progress delivery of the Environment Act target 

The statutory habitat target will deliver habitat creation and restoration at scale, which is one of the key actions we know is needed to achieve nature’s recovery. This work will help build a better network of naturally functioning and climate resilient habitats where wildlife can move and thrive. 

The interim habitat target contributes towards the statutory habitat target, which supports the species abundance and extinction targets. 

It takes time to create habitats, and some species can take time to respond to habitat improvements. By front-loading habitat creation and restoration we increase the chances of meeting our statutory species targets. The interim target will drive early progress whilst remaining achievable. 

Meeting the species abundance and extinction targets will require a variety of habitats to benefit a wide range of species. There are no sub-targets for specific habitats as the statutory habitat target includes delivering a range of wildlife-rich habitats, some that deliver benefits quickly (such as scrub), and others that take longer (such as woodland). We will monitor the split of habitats delivered to ensure they work together to support species recovery. 

The interim target is cumulative and gross; it is the sum of all habitat created or restored since January 2023. It does not take account of losses, degradation or reversion. Habitat created to replace known direct losses will not count towards the interim target, in line with the approach taken for the statutory target. 

The Land Use Framework sets out a vision for how we should best use our land. It shows that England has enough land to achieve its priorities if we make better decisions about how land is used. It explains why we will need to spatially target habitat creation to deliver outcomes for biodiversity, water and emissions reductions. It includes land use principles that are key to achieving more efficient land use. They will inform the spatial targeting of Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) from 2027, guide regional and local plans, and influence actions of individual landowners and managers.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies will provide the spatial framework to prioritise nature recovery action.

Together, these frameworks will help land managers to target habitat creation and restoration in the right places to support multiple outcomes, for example protecting our homes from flooding through creating wildlife-rich wetlands to reduce flood risk. 

Protected Landscapes are key areas for nature recovery because they already contain significant areas of wildlife-rich habitat and benefit from legal protection and dedicated management bodies. To meet national environmental targets, we must go further and faster in these areas. The Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework sets out that 50% of the statutory habitat target should be delivered in Protected Landscapes.

Delivery measures 

We expect to meet the interim and statutory habitat targets through a mix of delivery measures which are summarised in Table 1. Many of these will rely on voluntary action from landowners, farmers, environmental non-governmental organisations, businesses, and the public. 

The largest share of delivery is expected through Environmental Land Management schemes, particularly Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Landscape Recovery. 

Private finance and emerging green finance mechanisms (for example nature markets and biodiversity credits) are also expected to grow in importance over time. 

Table 1: Summary of delivery measures for the interim habitats target 

AES options from Countryside Stewardship and the Sustainable Farming Incentive that count towards the habitat target will be reviewed as schemes change and new evidence becomes available. Annex A shows the options that count towards the habitat targets as of October 2025.

Enablers 

Table 2: Enabling measures

The enabling measures are not quantified, as they support delivery indirectly, rather than through measurable contributions.

Note 1 includes the following sources: 

• a re-survey to assess the effectiveness of Higher Level Stewardship for maintaining and restoring species-rich grasslands - LM0443

• survey of Higher Level Stewardship option HK8: creation of species-rich semi-natural grassland - LM0409

• effectiveness of use of Higher Level Stewardship Scheme (HLS) options for management of lowland fen and bog - LM0442 

• an evaluation of factors inhibiting or masking the progress to favourable condition of lowland wetland SSSIs in AES - LM04114

• evaluating the impact of AES on pond quality - LM04134

• agreement Scale Monitoring of HLS: Resurvey of agreements baselined between 2009 to 2011 - LM0445

Key milestones 

Key milestones for 2026 include: 

• Projects for Nature launched 24 February 2026 after a successful pilot phase. The funding platform aims to direct private philanthropic funding towards government-screened nature recovery projects  
• launched the first year of the £10 million Wildlife-Rich Habitat Fund in May 2026, delivered alongside £30 million funding for Farming in Protected Landscapes, to accelerate habitat target delivery in Protected Landscapes  
• publication of the Government Estate Nature Plan (GENP)  
• implementation underway for successful Round 1 Landscape Recovery Projects 
• implementation underway for successful Round 2 Landscape Recovery Projects 
• Sustainable Farming Incentive open for applications in 2 windows in June and September 2026 
• develop an innovation fund with National Parks Partnerships and the National Landscapes Association to unlock investment opportunities and diversify funding sources for Protected Landscapes to deliver habitat creation and restoration
• from November 2026, mandatory BNG will also apply to major infrastructure projects including transport, energy and water developments

Key milestones for 2027 include: 

• 5 more National Nature Reserves declared  

• delivery of the further years of the £10 million Wildlife-rich Habitat Fund alongside Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme  
• completion of Water Restoration Fund development projects

Illustrative trajectory 

To meet the interim habitat target, an average 31,250ha a year is needed. This represents a front-loading of habitat creation and restoration to support the statutory species abundance target (a linear trajectory to the habitat target would require 25,000ha a year to be delivered). If the 2030 interim target is achieved, an average of approximately 20,800ha a year would then be needed to meet the statutory habitat target by 2042. This required trajectory is shown in Figure 1. 

While the trajectory outlines average annual targets, we do not expect delivery to be consistent year on year. Some years are likely to see higher levels of delivery as larger projects, such as those in the Landscape Recovery scheme, begin to deliver. 

Figure 1. Required trajectory for the interim habitat targets. Source: Defra

Monitoring and evaluation summary 

The metric we will use for monitoring the interim target is the gross number of hectares of habitat created or restored since January 2023. The metric will be updated annually, subject to data availability. The latest progress update was published in May 2026 in Environment Act Habitat Target - Evidence Report 2026 (JP075).  

The metric produced following analysis in March 2026 indicates that, since 30 January 2023, there are 77,638 hectares where action has been or is being taken towards the Habitat Target. Some delivery mechanisms have well-established monitoring while others are developing or have gaps in reporting. We are improving consistency and coverage of monitoring data across delivery partners and programmes. 

Detailed guidance on the type, format, and quality of data needed to support robust reporting is provided in Environment Act habitat target reporting data model and standard (TIN223). 

As habitat creation and restoration should contribute to the Lawton principles of bigger, better, more and joined up sites for nature, data will also be analysed to see if delivery is supporting this ambition by increasing the size and connectivity of habitat patches.

Annex A – Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive actions that count towards the Habitat Target as of October 2025

Option codes help refer to the different actions that can be done as part of an agri-environment scheme agreement. You can find the options codes using the Find funding for land or farms tool on GOV.UK.