UK biodiversity continues to decline, 2025 bioindicators show

UK ecosystems continue to deteriorate or show no change rather than improvement, latest biodiversity indicator data shows.

The indicators, released annually since 2007, track progress towards national and international biodiversity targets in both the short and long term.

Scientists from the UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, played a key role in shaping the 2025 report by analyzing trends in animal and plant species.

Dr Francesca Mancini, an environmental modeling specialist at UKCEH, said that while it was not a “totally positive picture”, indicators showed “some glimmers of hope”.

This year's figures were published by the Joint Conservation Committee and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

They are based on data provided by around 100 different organizations, including government agencies, research institutes, voluntary groups and citizen science programs such as the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.

“Most indicators tell us whether a group of species is improving, deteriorating, or has seen little or no change over the long term – usually meaning from the start of monitoring to now, or over the short term, which is usually the last five years,” Dr Mancini said.

The Butterfly Monitoring Scheme study, carried out by Dorset-based charity Butterfly Conservation, showed in April, 31 of 59 species had declined in abundance since monitoring began in 1976.

This year's numbers showed a longer-term decline, she said.

“However, some of those indicators that have been declining over the long term have remained virtually unchanged over the past five years, suggesting that the decline may have begun to stop.

“It's not exactly a positive picture, but there are glimmers of hope in the numbers.”

Dr Mancini added that without the thousands of volunteers who collected data every year, scientists would be “totally blind”.

She said people can get involved in different ways, such as monitoring pollinators in the spring, creating insect hotels or leaving water for birds in gardens.

“If you don't have a garden, consider window boxes, and there may also be some local community initiatives to transform green spaces to be more wildlife-friendly.”