Five major "nature recovery" projects across England will help tackle wildlife loss and climate change, the government said. The schemes cover 99,200 hectares (245,000 acres) of land in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Somerset, the West Midlands and the Peak District. The aim is to manage land sustainably and improve access to nature for people in cities and deprived areas. Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said the projects were "critically needed". "They will significantly contribute to achieving our target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and our commitment to protect 30% of our land by 2030, enabling us to leave the environment in a better state than we found it," she said. All of the five projects will share an initial £2.4m from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), to create new habitats, manage land for nature and carbon storage and increase footpaths. The five projects are: Natural England chairman, Tony Juniper, said: "Nature recovery can only occur if we take action at scale, and that can only work through partnerships. "These five landmark projects will seek to recover species and habitats through collaboration among a wide range of landowners and organisations, delivering benefits for wildlife, local economies, adaptation to climate change and for public wellbeing." Joan Edwards, director of policy at The Wildlife Trusts, said it was "good to see positive ambition" from the government to help people access nature near where they lived and connect existing wildlife sites. Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email |