Biodiversity: 30by30 on land delivery plan
In July 2026, the UK Government published its long-awaited 30by30 on land delivery plan, setting out how it intends to protect and improve 30% of England’s land for nature by 2030.
Its goal is to set out different routes through which land can contribute towards the target, while encouraging land managers to improve the condition and management of their land over time.
This briefing sets out the context of the plan, details of its contents, and headline implications for environmental professionals.
“Taken as a whole, the plan provides many of the building blocks for delivery but does not yet provide enough detail to demonstrate that its actions will add up to 30by30.
It creates a strong framework for participation but does not sufficiently set out a clear, quantified, and accountable route to protecting and improving 30% of England’s land for nature.” - Ellie Savage, Policy Lead, Institution of Environmental Sciences
Recommendations: Better delivery for 30by30 on land
- Develop a genuine delivery plan for 30by30, building on the current plan to produce a framework that will support implementation in practice.
- Take a ‘golden thread of governance’ approach to delivering 30by30, with measurable and clear contributions assigned to specific agencies and actors; a credible pathway and milestones supported by the necessary resources; and accountability for ensuring that outcomes are delivered.
- Bring back a commitment to a strategic, connected, and accessible network of nature-rich spaces, delivering it in practice through joined-up approaches to policy.
- Coordinate nature-based approaches to environmental improvement and climate mitigation to maximise the ‘ecosystem services’ provided.
- Commit to leaving UK nature and the wider environment in a better state than it was at the start of the 2020s.
Our policy team is actively working to support effective policy implementation, including through our Environmental Policy Implementation Community. For our initial responses to the delivery plan, read our analysis for Essential Environment.
Further information and related issues
Find out more
For more information on delivering environmental targets in practice, see 'The Golden Thread of Governance'. For further insights on the 30by30 delivery plan, read our analysis for Essential Environment. To support effective policy delivery, join our Environmental Policy Implementation Community (EPIC)
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Header image credit: © Goran | Adobe Stock
