The UK’s newest national park currently has a quarter of its land managed for nature such as woods, heaths, ponds and nature reserves.
The park authority is now hoping to create an additional 13,000 hectares - approximately the size of 21,000 football pitches - of habitat for plants and animals to thrive.
This extra land would bring 33 per cent of land in the national park managed for nature, exceeding the UN-backed target of 30 per cent by 2030. The park authority is in fact aiming for 67 per cent of land managed for nature by the same date. At the recent G7 summit, held in Cornwall, UK, all members present signed up to the global '30×30' initiative.
Ecologist Andrew Lee, who heads countryside policy and management for the national park, said: “The biodiversity crisis is real and it’s happening before our eyes, but the good news is it’s not too late to turn the tide of wildlife loss. Nature can thrive anywhere given the right support and we...