National parks seek more powers and stable funding for nature recovery

The Peak District published its latest State of the Park report in 2021 ahead of its 2023 to 2028 National Park Management Plan. A report commissioned by four national parks, including the Peak District, calls for stronger powers, more stable funding and a bigger role for park authorities in restoring nature. The report pushes national parks beyond their role as scenic landscapes and makes them active managers of habitat recovery, tourism pressure and development decisions.

National Parks Partnerships puts the 15 national parks at about 10% of Great Britain’s land, and nearly 90% of national park land remains in private ownership. That leaves park authorities trying to protect peatlands, footpaths, wildlife sites and rural economies without the landownership or legal leverage to act quickly when ecological decline or development pressure intensify.

Long-term work on habitat restoration, path maintenance and wildfire resilience cannot be planned properly when budgets arrive in short cycles. Stable funding also lets parks support local communities that depend on the visitor economy, while reducing the tension between conservation goals and the costs of heavy tourism.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced £30m to create and restore wildlife-rich habitats across England’s National Parks and National Landscapes. Parks are also being asked to do more on peatland restoration, woodland creation, biodiversity recovery and climate adaptation, while still absorbing the pressures of farming change and rising visitor numbers.

John Dower was commissioned to write a national parks report in 1945, and the first National Parks were later established under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Campaign for National Parks published a 2024 Health Check Report on nature recovery in national parks in England and Wales. Its 2021 climate report called the climate crisis the biggest global threat and gave national parks a key role in tackling both climate change and biodiversity loss.