Reports of risks to England's top wildlife sites from pollution, invasive species and inappropriate grazing.
The claims came in a publication as part of Natural England's project to establish the long-term management of the Natura 2000 sites.
There are 338 Natura 2000 sites in England, covering around two million hectares, both marine and on land, such as the Northumberland coast and New Forest. The sites also include Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The project to establish long term management is part of the Improvement Programme for England's Natura 2000 Sites (IPENS) scheme.
Site improvement plans have been produced, presenting the "best available evidence in support of actions required to achieve and maintain sites in good condition". The plans so far have more than 6,000 specific actions identified, consisting of making plans to improve local habitat connectivity, lake and river restoration and adaptive coastal management amongst other strategies.
Cedrec's take
The two million hectares, both land and marine, are testament to the beauty and diversity of Britain's wildlife, and should most definitely be protected as a treasure.
In order to give such protection, there must be action. It is concerning that so far there are only plans in order to create more plans, but providing the talk can result in effective action, it is simply par for the course.
