The turtle dove and European eel are under threat, the report says./ CFP
A report analyzing nature in the UK has found 16 percent of 10,000 mammals, plants, insects, birds and amphibians could soon be extinct.
The 203-page report by State of the Nature, produced by more than 60 organizations, including wildlife conservation groups, government agencies and academics, found 43 percent of British bird species, 31 percent of amphibians and reptiles, and a quarter of land mammals are threatened.
The report says the turtle dove, hazel dormouse, the lady's slipper orchid and the European eel are those at particular risk.
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There are also worrying figures for UK's flora and foliage with 28 percent of fungi and lichen now meeting conservation, red-list criteria. Over half of the country's flowering plant species are declining.
The report, believed to be the most comprehensive examination of the UK's wildlife, is published every few years with increasingly concerning trends. Numbers of land and freshwater species studied since 1970 have declined on average by 19 percent.
More than half of the UK's biodiversity has disappeared due to human activity according to the report, with the main causes of nature loss attributed to intensive land farming practices and the ongoing impact of climate change.
Unsustainable farming practices has been highlighted by the report./ CFP
Hilary McGrady, National Trust Director General, said: "The report is yet another urgent warning that we need to accelerate efforts to tackle the nature and climate crisis. Nature needs us, and we need nature. We've all seen how important access to nature is for our health and quality of life, which makes stopping its decline even more important.
'With report after report documenting the critical state of UK nature we can no longer fiddle around the edges in the hope that will be enough to make everything ok. It's not too late to act. But we need to do it now."
Report author and University of Sussex environmental biology professor Fiona Matthews added: "We need a lot more investment in nature. There is a belief in government that things can just magically happen for free.
"I often see a press release for £1 million ($1.22m) for this or that - but it is a drop in the ocean for what is actually required to tackle this issue."
Wildlife habitats did not fare well in the analysis. Only one in seven were described as being in a good condition. This included just a quarter of peatlands and seven percent of woodlands found to be in a good state. None of the sea floor around the UK was deemed in a good condition because of damage from discarded fishing gear.
The UK is currently classified as one of the world's most nature-depleted countries.
Responding to calls for action, the UK government said it was investing in its '30-by-30' pledge, to protect 30 percent of land for nature by 2030.
"At the start of this year, I published our comprehensive Environmental Improvement Plan," UK Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said, "setting out how we will create and restore at least 3,200 square kilometers of new wildlife habitats."
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