The revised Environmental Improvement Plan

Following a review of the 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan, the Government published a revised version on 1 December 2025. Here, we explain what the plan is and what it means for levy payers.

The Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) sets out how the Government plans to improve the natural environment in England. It's a legal requirement under the Environment Act (2021) to aid and secure progress towards meeting the act’s statutory targets.

These targets include halting species decline and increasing species abundance, restoring wildlife-rich habitats, increasing tree and woodland cover, and reducing nutrient pollution from agriculture.

The 2023 EIP was revised following criticism for being vague and lacking the detail and rigour to achieve any meaningful impact.

This revised EIP sets out a roadmap for nature restoration by addressing 10 long-term goals covering the natural environment, air, water, use of chemicals and pesticides, waste, natural resources, climate change, environmental hazards, biosecurity and access to nature.

The roadmap includes interim targets, commitments accompanied by actions for government and delivery plans to meet the Environment Act’s goals.

Previous EIP interim targets have been revised and new ones introduced, including:

• Restore or create a total of 250,000 ha of a range of wildlife-rich habitats outside of protected sites by December 2030
• By December 2030, double the number of farms providing sufficient year-round resources for farm wildlife compared with 2025
• Reduce the rate of establishment of invasive non-native species (INNS) by at least 50% compared to 2000 levels by December 2030

Alongside publishing the EIP, it was announced that £500m will go to the Landscape Recovery scheme over a 20-year period and £85m to improve and restore peatland.

The EIP sets out at a high level how the Government aims to achieve nature restoration across England.

As the new interim target on providing resources for farm wildlife suggests, the EIP is a clear signal that farmers play a key role in nature recovery and the environment.

There is reference throughout to incentives for year-round resources for wildlife, creation or restoration of hedgerows, improving water quality and sustainable soil management, but detail is lacking.

There is a commitment to support farmers and land managers to create/restore 48,000 km of hedgerows by 2037 and 72,500 km of hedgerows by 2050. This is predominantly to be achieved through support provided by agri-environmental schemes and by integrating hedgerow data into spatial mapping.

There is an action to reduce ammonia emissions from farming through streamlined regulation, and Defra has been tasked to develop detailed proposals on the extension of environmental permitting for dairy and intensive beef farms, which is to be put forward for consultation.

Defra will also provide grants to support innovation and the use of technology to address farming-related pollution.

There is also a commitment to bring at least 40% of England’s agricultural soil into sustainable management by 2028, increasing to 60% by 2030. This is accompanied by actions to publish principles of sustainable soil management and guidance for consistent soil health monitoring by 2026.

These are ambitious plans and policy documents, such as the Land Use Framework and the 25-year Farming Roadmap, will produce further detail on how these actions will be achieved.