Government has set out a delivery plan to protect 30% of England’s land for nature by 2030, coupling the target with new funding for national parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other protected landscapes. The plan includes support for climate adaptation research relevant to floodplain management, coastal erosion and peatland restoration, with implications for drainage design, embankment stability and long-term asset resilience. Additional investment in new national forests will drive large-scale tree planting and soil restoration, affecting ground investigation, slope design and hydrological modelling on adjacent infrastructure schemes.

Severn Trent Water has avoided a financial penalty from Ofwat despite “serious failings” in wastewater and sewage management, after committing to wastewater treatment works expansions and nature-based interventions such as wetlands and catchment measures. The company’s programme includes increasing capacity at existing wastewater facilities and deploying natural attenuation and storage solutions to reduce storm overflow discharges. For civil and environmental engineers, the case signals regulatory weight behind early engagement, demonstrable upgrade plans and integrated grey–green infrastructure rather than purely end-of-pipe compliance.

More than 60% of known hydrothermal vent mollusc species – 125 of 201 assessed – are now classed as threatened on the IUCN Red List due to prospective deep-sea mining for copper, cobalt, zinc and polymetallic nodules. IUCN is urging a moratorium ahead of the International Seabed Authority’s 13–31 July meeting in Jamaica, citing evidence from a 3,000‑tonne nodule removal test at 4,280 m in the Clarion‑Clipperton Zone that cut macrofaunal density by 37% and species richness by 32% within two years. For project planners and ESG teams, the findings signal rising regulatory and reputational risk for vent-proximal licences, while marine protected areas like the Mariana Arc of Fire currently shield some species such as Provanna exquisita.