Tom Webb attended the Wild Summit UK conference, held in Bristol and organised by Wildlife and Countryside Link. It was the first national gathering of its kind, bringing together over 1,200 delegates from NGOs, government, business and the conservation sector to ‘supercharge nature recovery’. The summit featured keynote talks, panel discussions and interactive workshops covering nature recovery, freshwater and river restoration, planning and development, agriculture and land use, natural capital, finance and investment, and nature-based solutions. Some of the headline speakers included Mary Creagh (UK Nature Minister), Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Baroness Kathy Willis (House of Lords Life Peer and academic), Tony Juniper (Chair of Natural England), and Ruth Davis (UK Special Representative for Nature) alongside CEOs of all the major conservation charities and NGOs.
Tom highlighted a number of key themes from the conference:
Nature vs Economy
A recurring theme was the tension between economic growth and nature recovery. Multiple speakers highlighted that nature cannot be treated as a side issue: healthy ecosystems are foundational to economic resilience, community wellbeing and climate adaptation. However, there was also critical discussion of ‘green growth’ as potentially problematic, especially if growth leads to greater material demand and resource extraction, which could undermine ecological objectives.
30×30 – Investing in Nature
Currently only 6% of UK land and 8% of UK seas are effectively protected for nature, meaning there is a huge gap to close in just five years. Achieving this target will require not only more and better protected areas, but also restoration of degraded habitats, stronger planning policies and significant investment in nature. More positively TNFDs have increased by 30% since their inception in 2024 which shows that businesses in the UK are keen to operate more responsibly – good news for our colleagues at Nature Positive.
Planning and Land Use Reform
Speakers and panelists repeatedly flagged shortcomings in the UK planning system. There were recurring criticisms of the Government’s messaging on nature being the ‘blocker’ to development. The Chancellor keeps using bats, newts, spiders and snails as examples. It was highlighted that the Government strategically use certain species in their messaging, making out that nature is unpleasant and something to be scared of. Would the Government use cute cuddly dormice or hedgehogs in this messaging?
There was strong criticism of ‘pay-to-damage’ approaches within Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
The summit highlighted calls for a national land-use framework and to better align funding and incentives, including restoration budgets, floodplain rewilding, and nature recovery objectives.
Rivers, Water Quality and Freshwater Systems
River restoration and freshwater quality emerged as critical linchpins for biodiversity, food systems, and climate resilience. The summit reinforced that “if we can’t get rivers right, we can’t get food, farming, health or climate right”.
Coalition Building, Messaging and Strategy
A key underlying message was the need for bolder messaging and strategy in conservation advocacy. Several speakers challenged sector actors to be more assertive, to “stop holding onto remnants” and to avoid overly cautious or incremental framing. There was discussion on reaching beyond sympathetic audiences, engaging with people who fundamentally disagree with conservation perspectives, in order to have meaningful dialogue and policy change.
Returning from the conference, Tom said:
“I found the event hugely inspiring, hearing from campaigners, policy leaders and practitioners has certainly galvanised me to want to make a bigger difference, both in our day-to-day projects and in the bigger picture of supporting the UK’s 30×30 commitments (protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030). The challenge of 30×30 is enormous, but it also presents an opportunity: if we can demonstrate that investing in nature is good for business, good for communities and essential for climate resilience, then we can help turn this ambition into reality. I’d encourage us all to think about how the projects we’re working on could actively contribute to these wider goals, whether through ambitious habitat management, robust mitigation, or by showcasing best practice in BNG. Together, our work can form part of the bigger push to make the UK’s 30×30 target achievable”.