Steve Reed called in some of England’s biggest landowners for a meeting on Thursday, asking them to come up with meaningful plans to restore nature on their estates.

Representatives for King Charles and Prince William were among those at the meeting, asked by the environment secretary to draft new land management plans to help meet the country’s legal Environment Act targets.

The landowners also included third-sector organisations such as the National Trust, RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts, along with representatives from the government estate such as the Ministry of Defence and Natural England.

Between them, the assembled “National Estate for Nature” group own 10% of England’s land, making their cooperation crucial if ministers are to meet legally binding environment targets and stop the decline of nature.

Reed called them to action to collectively protect and restore nature on their estates across England, asking them to report back on potential new approaches for sustainable land use, land management, change, or investment. He said the group should set minimum standards for land management plans, with clear milestones for nature restoration and protections.

He said: “Landowners must go further and faster to restore our natural world. The National Estate for Nature, who manage a tenth of the land in this country, have a responsibility to future generations to leave the environment in a better state. We have a unique opportunity to work together on common sense changes that create a win-win for nature, the economy, and make the best use of the land around us.”

Just 8% of the land and sea in England is protected for nature. The government has a target to reach 30% by 2030, but wildlife groups say the proportion of land “effectively protected” for nature is even lower than the official statistic, at 2.93%. Nature across England continues to be in decline, with wild bird numbers decreasing each year. The 2023 state of nature report described the UK as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, based on declines since the 1970s.

The Labour government hopes to accelerate efforts to meet these targetsand recently legalised the wild release of beavers and announced a land use framework that will provide guidance on how to best use land for food and nature.

The environmental campaigner Guy Shrubsole said: “Major landowners in England like the Forestry Commission, crown estate and water companies own millions of acres of land – it’s only right that we expect them to repair the badly damaged habitats that they own.”

He argued that large landowners should make their plans to protect nature public so that they can be scrutinised and held to account: “The government must mandate these landowners to publish their plans for nature restoration, so the public can see how the land is being looked after on our behalf – and change the outdated legal duties of public bodies to prioritise restoring ecosystems and fixing the climate crisis.”

Harry Bowell, the director of land and nature at the National Trust, said: “We are delighted to join the National Estate for Nature group, bringing the National Trust’s stewardship of 250,000 hectares to the table. As the government’s land use framework makes clear, a transformation in the use of land is needed if we are to meet our nature and climate targets. The biggest landowners – us included – have the power, and responsibility, to drive forward that transformation.”

Further quarterly meetings are expected to focus on developing and implementing agreed on-the-ground plans to drive nature’s recovery.