We have published our Corporate Plan for the next couple of years, setting out the actions we will prioritise to help drive nature’s recovery in England and Northern Ireland.
OEP Chair Dame Helen Ghosh said: “We aim that our work supports government to meet environmental challenges and opportunities at the pace and scale required, with the focus on coherence and effective implementation that is so needed if ambitions for environmental improvement are to be made reality.
"We look forward to working with the many organisations and individuals interested in our work in delivering the priorities set out here."
The context in which we have decided on which actions to prioritise remains sobering. In both England and Northern Ireland, our latest assessments of progress find government off track to secure the restored and thriving natural environment described in its targets and commitments.
However, progress is being made and there are opportunities to be grasped. In England, government has published a refreshed Environmental Improvement Plan, and set out more clearly the steps it proposes so that key targets for the abundance of plants and wildlife, and the protection of the places on which they depend will be met.
In Northern Ireland, the first Environmental Improvement Plan is now in place, an Environmental Principles Policy Statement has been published and a Nature Recovery Strategy has been drafted.
We will scrutinise key pillars of what government must get right if nature is to recover, and what it must not get wrong – building on our work in recent years. In England, this means that nature friendly farming, protecting space for nature, and the pace of action in the marine environment remain keen areas of focus.
In Northern Ireland, we will remain focused largely on the need to tackle nutrient pollution, both from waste water and agriculture.
