The list goes on. Our nature is in a parlous state.<\/p>\n
Decades of these statistics mean we should be open to new ideas to improve our natural world<\/a> in a way that still enables the provision of homes, jobs and incomes. But we are watching other countries innovate, while our laws stagnate \u2013 and even go backwards.<\/p>\n So, pack your bags. Let\u2019s go on a tour.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll start with the United Kingdom<\/a>\u2019s 2021 Environment Act. This requires long-term, measurable and achievable targets to be set for biodiversity, air and water quality, resource efficiency and waste reduction. Once set, targets cannot be weakened unless there is a change in circumstances. The Government has a legal duty to meet the targets, including through the creation of environmental improvement plans that are reviewed every five years and can be challenged. They\u2019re not just aspirations.<\/p>\n The act includes progressive requirements such as a 10% net biodiversity gain for all new developments. Its policy embeds the precautionary and polluter-pays principles, which must be adhered to in almost all decisions by Government (with narrow exceptions for tax and defence). Before any new law is made, ministers are required to provide \u201cnon-regression\u201d statements, setting out whether a bill will reduce levels of environmental protection. An independent \u201cOffice for Environmental Protection\u201d has been established too. This keeps tabs on the Government\u2019s progress towards targets and highlights where new legislation is regressive. It can take the Government to court for breaches of environmental law and has provided a powerful incentive to do better.<\/p>\n Now, sailing across the Channel to the 27 countries of the European Union<\/a>, where a \u201cNature Restoration Law\u201d has just been enacted. This requires the restoration of at least 20% of land and sea areas by 2030 and 90% of degraded habitats by 2050. Targets are legally binding, and some requirements are very specific, such as the requirement to restore 25,000km of \u201cfree-flowing\u201d rivers and floodplains. In 2015, Paris also created a permis de v\u00e9g\u00e9taliser (a right to plant). This innovation allows anyone access to green public spaces such as footpaths, walls and fences.<\/p>\n Heading to Asia, in Singapore, nature is being integrated into human habitation to create a \u201ccity in a garden\u201d. Under its Green Plan and landscape replacement policy, developers must replace greenery lost from a site in other areas within the footprint of the development. This has generated a proliferation of vertical green walls, sky terraces and rooftop gardens.<\/p>\n Housing developments are designed to make use of natural cooling mechanisms. They purify their own water, store monsoon rains for irrigation and provide a home for threatened species to return.<\/p>\n Spatial planning there isn\u2019t just about pipes and roads \u2013 it\u2019s being used to connect up \u201cgreen highways\u201d for wildlife across the whole country. Despite being a small island which is effectively one big city, green cover is now 47% of Singapore\u2019s land area, including 130ha of rooftop gardens.<\/p>\n