Closed petition Give all Ancient Woodland statutory legal protection.

Closed on 4 July 2018

Ancient Woodland is a nationally important wildlife habitat in its own right, acting as a natural flood defence air filter and carbon store, while providing homes for species that depend on it for survival. Once it's gone it's gone, legal protection should be brought in line with SSSIs as a minimum.

With 13% of the UK's landmass covered in woodland, compared to the EU average of around 35% we are significantly lagging behind our European counterparts. We must protect our ancient woodlands as part of a program of woodland expansion that will help us to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and slow the progress of rainwater, reducing flooding downstream. Expanding will help reverse the decline of woodland species as highlighted by the UK State of Nature Report 2016.