‘Irreplaceable habitats’ could be saved with £1bn five-year plan
The charity warned that this is the last generation with the time to protect and restore unique habitats such as the temperate rainforests in the west of the UK. Its plan, which it said would cost four per cent of the Government’s road building budget and one per cent of HS2 ’s price tag, sets out how to reverse the problems identified in its 2021 report State of the UK’s Woods and Trees. That report showed how only 9 per cent of England’s native woods are in good condition and one third of woodland species are diminishing. The lesser spotted woodpecker has declined by 83 per cent since 1970 and hazel dormice by 48 per cent in the last 10 years while hedgehogs, once a common nocturnal garden visitor, have declined by 70 per cent since 2000, the report found. According to the Woodland…
