MORE than 40 per cent of Bradford’s important nature sites are not being conserved, figures reveal.

Despite a government pledge to strengthen protection of biodiversity, experts warn consistent underfunding has left councils struggling to protect their natural assets.

There are more than 40,000 so-called Local Sites in England, which the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs defines as places with a “substantive nature conservation importance”, because of the wildlife or geology they are home to.

Bradford boasted 107 such sites in 2018-19, the most recent Defra figures show.

Of these, just 61 (57 per cent) were in “positive conservation management”, which means the council can prove measures are in place to conserve the environment.

Local Sites are different to Sites of Specific Scientific Interest – although Defra says many are their “equal in quality” – and councils do not have a legal duty to protect them.

However, government guidance says they should take the lead in partnering with local organisations to manage them, and must provide figures to Defra’s annual monitoring report.

Only 47 per cent of Local Sites across England are being conserved.