Signal Nearly one in six British species threatened with extinction

Summary

The report finds that biodiversity in the UK is also under serious threat. Almost one in six of the 10,008 British species assessed by the 2023 State of Nature report are at risk of disappearing from Great Britain. Worldwide, about 42,100 species were threatened with extinction in 2023, and monitored vertebrate populations dropped by more than 69% over 1970～2018. The report points out that the continued spraying of non-selective pesticides and herbicides is reducing plant and invertebrate populations. In the UK, biodiversity loss can hit the economy, environment and culture hard, both by disrupting global supply chains and through direct domestic effects. The report records that the Environment Act 2021 and the 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan set legal targets to halt the decline of nature.