Read more about the Lower Thames Crossing
The UK Government’s recent decision to move forward with the Lower Thames Crossing highlights a fundamental issue in national infrastructure planning: we are still treating nature as an afterthought.
As we rapidly approach the 2030 deadline for restoring 30% of land and sea for nature’s recovery, we need a major rethink. Nature must be considered critical infrastructure, essential not only for biodiversity but for the resilience of our entire economy, climate, and communities.
This is why Kent Wildlife Trust are supporting the concept to Rebuild Nature and calling for the creation of a Strategic Nature Network (SNN), a connected framework of restored and protected habitats that would underpin the UK’s transition to a nature-positive economy.
By integrating nature into infrastructure decisions from the outset, we can avoid the costly mistakes of the past and ensure that development projects contribute to, rather than undermine, the UK’s climate and biodiversity goals.
Organisations like Kent Wildlife Trust are vital in achieving this, delivering a wilder approach to allow natural processes to return, but more important is that the private sector has a clear route to contribute toward this delivery.
The urgent need for a strategic approach
The Lower Thames Crossing is just one example of how current infrastructure planning falls short. The project threatens to further fragment vital habitats at a time when we need large-scale ecological restoration. Instead of these piecemeal, reactive approaches to environmental impact, we need a strategic national plan that embeds nature into decision-making at every level.
A Strategic Nature Network (SNN) offers a blueprint for how this can be achieved. By restoring dynamic ecosystems, the SNN would deliver:
- 30% of UK land and sea actively restored for nature by 2030.
- A significant contribution (30%) to the UK’s emissions reductions by 2030.
- Resilient landscapes that protect communities from climate risks, including flooding and heatwaves delivering durable ecosystem services.
- The scale of opportunity to fund private investment.
Nature as infrastructure: A smarter investment
Investing in nature is not just about conservation, it is about ensuring the long-term viability of our economy, infrastructure, and well-being. Healthy ecosystems provide flood resilience, improve air and water quality, and sequester carbon, delivering immense value to society. Yet, these benefits are too often ignored in economic decision-making.
Rebuilding nature through a strategic nature network will unlock private sector confidence and drive large-scale investment in nature-based solutions. The SNN aligns directly with the UK Government’s 25-Year Environmental Improvement Plan, providing a structured approach to halting biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystems.
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