WITH nature in the UK facing a crisis, the Wildlife Trusts have set out an ambitious plan to give Britain a fighting chance at reversing it.
In a proposal dubbed “The King’s Speech for Nature”, the charity has outlined eight major Bills it wants the next government to adopt, arguing that the UK’s ecological decline is now so severe it should be treated as a national security threat.
Its blunt message states that without stronger laws, clearer targets and real accountability, the UK will continue to slide deeper into nature loss with consequences for wildlife, climate resilience, food security and public health.
Environmental experts believe the UK is one of the most nature‑depleted countries on Earth. More than one in seven species faces extinction, rivers are repeatedly failing ecological tests, and habitats from peatlands to seagrass meadows are shrinking or degraded. Given the current political turmoil in Whitehall, the Wildlife Trusts say this is the moment to put nature recovery at the centre of national policy.
Each Bill targets a different pressure point in the UK’s environmental decline. Here are the eight proposals:
1) The Ocean Emergency Bill
To give Defra emergency powers to tackle the rapidly deteriorating marine environment, including control of marine by-laws and planning processes where urgent intervention is needed for nature. The Bill will require Defra to use these powers to fast-track a whole-site ban on bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas and a Marine Spatial Plan across English seas.
2) The River Restoration Bill
To remove artificial barriers in rivers which impede species movement, cut off rivers from wider freshwater networks and degrade riverine habitats. The Bill also seeks to implement a Wilder River Banks target to increase habitats in recovery for nature alongside rivers to reduce the risk of pollution and floods.
3) The Better Land Use Bill
To reduce the production of environmentally damaging bioenergy, minimise harmful impacts of intensive livestock farming, enforce the Land Use Framework across UK Government and enhance environmental restoration on land protected for nature.
4) The Peatland Recovery Bill
To conserve carbon-storing, water-filtering, wildlife-rich peatland by banning the use of peat in horticulture and restricting development on deep peat. The horticulture industry has been preparing for a legal ban since 2022 and a ban on the use of peat has been too long in the making, particularly as there are tried and tested environmentally friendly alternatives to horticultural peat.
5) The Bison and Elk Return Bill
To create a new regulatory regime for the reintroduction of large herbivores to the wild in England, to boost nature recovery through improved habitat management and the restoration of natural processes.
6) The Nature & Climate-friendly Development Bill
To help ensure that new developments benefit people, nature and climate. It will increase habitats for wildlife alongside new homes through design measures such as swift bricks as well as improving people’s health and increasing private investment in nature recovery through Biodiversity Net Gain markets.
7) The Access to Nature Bill
To confirm a legal right to enjoy a healthy environment and require decision makers to increase public access to nature to uphold that right. A large body of evidence underpins people’s need for nature. Action is now needed to fulfil the Environmental Improvement Plan’s commitment to ensure that everyone has access to green or blue spaces within a 15-minute walk from home.
8) The Nature Investment Bill
To increase private investment in nature recovery. It will establish a governance framework for nature markets, including minimum standards and a dedicated regulator, to encourage investment.
What the Wildlife Trusts say
“You may wonder what bison and elk have to do with the economy and our national security – but they are intricately connected,” said Matthew Browne, head of public affairs at The Wildlife Trusts.
“Natural habitats and wildlife are in dramatic decline at a time when the UK is also suffering from the impacts of climate change and war.
“Restoring the natural world has hugely diverse benefits: it will help us reduce carbon emissions and our reliance on fertilisers; it will stop pollution from reaching rivers and help prevent flooding; it will help us address the impacts of drought and bring back pollinators; and it will boost green jobs alongside people’s health and wellbeing. Nature’s a necessity for national security – it’s in all our interests to restore it.
“The UK has just four years left to meet its legally binding target to halt the decline in nature by 2030. Sustained polling shows that action to save cherished wild species and species is very popular – people back saving nature – and the Government needs to act fast to step up nature recovery before it is too late.”
Why this matters
What makes this proposal stand out is its scale. Instead of tinkering at the edges, the Wildlife Trusts are calling for a complete reset of how the UK treats its natural environment – from rivers and oceans to farmland and urban green space.
They argue that nature loss is no longer just an environmental issue. It affects flood risk, food production, water security, public health, and economic resilience. In other words if nature fails, so do we.
What happens next?
The Wildlife Trusts will now push political parties to adopt these Bills in their manifestos. Whether they succeed will depend on how seriously the government takes the UK’s environmental decline, and whether voters demand action.
These Bills would shape the landscapes we walk, paddle, camp and explore. They would determine the future of chalk streams, ancient woodlands, peat bogs, coastlines and the species that depend on them.
For anyone who loves the outdoors, this isn’t just policy – it’s the future of the places we cherish.
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