9% of England’s Farmland Needs to Be Converted Into Wildlife Habitats and Forests: UK Government Land Use Blueprint

Roughly nine percent of England’s farmland needs to be converted into habitats for wildlife and forest by 2050 in order to meet the country’s nature and net-zero goals, according to a consultation launched by Steve Reed, the United Kingdom’s environment secretary.

Reed announced on Friday the government’s plans for land use changes intended to balance new infrastructure with carbon reduction and nature targets, reported The Guardian.

Under the new land use blueprint, grasslands used for grazing livestock faced the biggest reduction, which Reed said meant eating less meat would be encouraged.

“We know we need to develop a food strategy. If we can give parents better information to make better informed choices, they will do that. I’m sure that there will be no mandate from government about that, but I’m sure those informed choices will then affect what farmers grow, and producers and manufacturers provide, to meet the demands as that changes,” Reed explained, as The Guardian reported.

Land use plan for England to map best areas for farming and nature

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— The Guardian (@theguardian.com) January 31, 2025 at 1:07 AM

Reed said it would be better to restore farmland that floods most years for nature rather than using it to grow food.

“Into the future it is probably not a good idea to keep growing crops in fields like that, because your investment will get destroyed. But what a great location, perhaps, to plant more vegetation, more trees, to help reduce flooding in a nearby urban area,” Reed said.

Reed said the government would use “levers and incentives” to make sure land was used efficiently.

“[O]ur natural world is under threat, with England now one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Much-loved British birds and wildlife are at risk of national extinction, whilst our rivers, lakes and seas have unacceptable levels of pollution,” the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said. “By publishing a Land Use Framework, we will go further by creating a toolkit to support decision making and inform discussion on how we can guarantee our long-term food security, how we can support development and how we can achieve our targets on nature and climate that deliver multiple benefits and support economic growth.”

UK officials have produced maps that show what areas of England have the most potential for various types of nature restoration, as well as the lands most suitable for farming, reported The Guardian.

Under the guidelines, farming will be done more intensively, with more food produced in less space.

“Farming is already going through change: taking on new models of agricultural practice, adapting food production in a changing climate, and building resilience to increased flooding or other global shocks like changing patterns of pests and disease. I know from conversations with farmers and landowners that they not only understand this need for change, but that they are actively delivering it. They know their land best, and it is right that they lead this transition with clarity about land use change so they can plan their businesses,” DEFRA said.

Under the new plans, some arable land next to rivers will be kept free to meet river cleanliness targets, with trees planted to absorb excess nutrient pollution. Areas that need protections — rare peatlands and those with high potential for woodlands — have been highlighted.

I left Steve Reed's #LandUseFramework consultation launch feeling hopeful. For healthy food, green infrastructure *and* nature, it'll need: 🌎a legal link to planning & consenting 🌍rules to target incentives 🌏public interest in private land important for wildlife. www.gov.uk/government/s…

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— Richard Benwell (@richardbenwell.bsky.social) January 31, 2025 at 9:48 AM

“For too long, land use has been viewed in narrow or binary terms, often pitting food production against nature, or farming against biodiversity restoration. We must acknowledge that most of our land can deliver on multiple fronts, safeguarding food production, mitigating climate change and protecting nature,” said Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, as The Guardian reported. “The focus must be on maximising the benefits land can provide by embracing its multifunctionality, rather than limiting it to single uses.”

Roughly 70 percent of land in England is used for farming, reported the BBC.

A government analysis found that nearly four million acres of farmland must be repurposed to meet climate and legal environmental targets by mid-century. These include the nine percent taken from food production to be converted to natural habitats like woodlands; five percent still producing food, but mostly repurposed for the environment; four percent that incorporate more trees next to agricultural land; and one percent for small changes like planting herbs and other plants alongside field margins.

“A lot of land at the moment is very unproductive and one of the areas that is most unproductive is some of our grazing land. There’s no way that we can satisfy all the requirements that we need from our land without reducing our meat production,” Henry Dimbleby, National Food Strategy author and co-founder of the Leon food chain, told the BBC. “Meat production is about 85% of our current farming use so we can afford to pull that back a bit in order to restore nature, in order to build houses, in order to get clean energy. That is not a major sacrifice.”