Government action between now and 2030 will determine whether key environmental targets affecting farming and land use are met, according to a watchdog report warning ministers remain largely off track.
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has published its latest assessment of progress against the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), covering the year to the end of March 2025.
The report concludes that current efforts are insufficient to meet legally binding commitments on biodiversity and the protection of land and sea, with direct implications for how farmland is managed, funded and regulated.
Dame Glenys Stacey, chair of the OEP, said the findings come as government policy places increasing emphasis on economic growth.
“Our report comes at a time when government is focused on economic growth,” she said. “Nature has a role to play here, an important role. It is not a blocker to growth, but it enables, drives and protects economic growth.”
She warned that failure to reverse environmental decline carries long-term risks. “Nature’s recovery is a pre-requisite of prosperity, health and well-being,” Dame Glenys said.
“These have cascading, compounding impacts, which will amplify threats to national and international security, the economy and communities,” she added.
While the OEP acknowledged some improvement compared with previous years, it said progress has still fallen short of what is needed.
“We have previously called for government to speed up and scale up its efforts if it is to achieve its environmental ambitions and commitments, and we renew that call now,” Dame Glenys said.
“While we have seen more progress in this year than in the previous reporting period, it was not the step change needed.”
She said government remains “largely off track to meet its environmental targets and obligations”, including legally binding biodiversity targets and the UK’s commitment to protect and restore 30% of land and sea by 2030.
“The government must now decide whether or not it is going to meet those targets. What happens now matters,” she said.
The report assessed progress against 43 individual targets and commitments, many of which relate directly to land management, water quality and habitat delivery on farmland.
Good progress was recorded on 12 targets, mixed progress on 19 and limited progress on 12.
Of the 13 targets set under the Environment Act, four showed good progress, seven mixed progress and two limited progress during the reporting period.
Positive movement was seen in areas such as creating wildlife-rich habitat and reducing phosphorus pollution from treated wastewater.
However, limited progress was recorded in improving the condition of marine protected areas and reducing residual waste.
For farmers, the watchdog flagged growing pressures linked to land and water management.
The report said the number of properties at risk from surface water flooding has increased, alongside a decline in the condition of flood and coastal risk management assets, raising concerns for farms operating in vulnerable catchments.
Wildfire incidents were also found to be increasing, adding to the challenges faced by land managers.
The OEP also published an initial assessment of the revised Environmental Improvement Plan, released by government in December 2025.
“Our initial view is that much of the formal advice we provided for the review of the EIP has been taken on board,” Dame Glenys said.
She described the revised plan as “more coherent” and offering “more transparency and an increased focus in delivery”.
However, she warned that weaknesses remain, particularly around funding and delivery on farms.
“Resources, particularly for higher tier agri-environment schemes such as Landscape Recovery, appear as stretched as ever,” she said.
The watchdog said some commitments remain broad statements of intent and that gaps in monitoring risk undermining delivery at farm level.
Among its recommendations, the OEP again called on government to get nature-friendly farming right and to set out clearer mechanisms for managing competing demands for land and sea.
Farming groups have repeatedly called for clearer long-term funding, simpler scheme rules and more certainty to allow businesses to plan ahead.
The OEP said upcoming reforms, including a Land Use Framework, Farming Roadmap and Food Strategy, present an opportunity to provide that clarity if aligned effectively with environmental targets.
“As we have long said, the most important thing now is effective delivery of the plan,” Dame Glenys said.
With major farming schemes, land use policy and environmental funding still in flux, the watchdog said the coming years will be critical — both for meeting 2030 targets and for giving farmers the certainty needed to plan, invest and manage land with confidence.
