In Parliament yesterday I called on the UK Government to establish a nature recovery network to help restore natural habitats.

The idea of a Nature Recovery Network, which has been promoted by the Wildlife Trusts and was included in the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan published last year, aims to connect spaces across the UK landscape – towns and cities, farmland, and natural places – to give wildlife a chance to recover and adapt to pressures like climate change.

Speaking in Defra questions, I said “The RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts, which both have fantastic reserves in my constituency in the Newport Wetlands and the Magor Marsh, are strongly supportive of establishing a nature recovery network to restore and repair habitats. Will the Government commit to putting that on a statutory footing?”

Defra Minister Therese Coffey responded by confirming that a nature recovery network would be included in the forthcoming Environment Bill.

I welcome the Government’s pledge to include a statutory nature recovery network in the Environment Bill – we will now await more detail on this.

Following the Minister’s response yesterday Stephanie Hilborne, the CEO of The Wildlife Trusts, said: “Our natural world is in a critical condition and people are increasingly demanding urgent political action to address it. An ambitious Environment Act – with a Nature Recovery Network at its heart – is desperately needed to reverse the catastrophic declines in the abundance of wildlife and ensure nature can thrive again. I welcome the Government’s commitment to putting Nature Recovery Networks onto a statutory footing in the Environment Bill because unless action is taken on the ground we will get nowhere. It’s not too late to bring our wildlife back, but we must act now.”