Defra selects English councils to pilot local nature recovery strategies

Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, and Northumberland Councils have been selected to pilot studies to help map the most valuable sites in their areas for wildlife in a bid to aid nature restoration efforts, the government has announced today.

The five local authorities will each receive a share of £1m in funding to set up Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), with a view to supporting new initiatives such as the creation of new public green spaces, woodlands, wetlands, and wildflower habitats for pollinators, Defra said.

The funding is aimed at helping councils set out their own local priorities for restoring habitats, nature, peatland and woodland, in order to benefit communities, tackle climate change, and help mitigate flood and fire risk.

The pilots are intended to lay the groundwork for wider projects following the passage of the government's forthcoming Environment Bill, which is set to require all areas in England to establish LNRSs that will underpin the creation of a national Nature Recovery Network, the government said.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said the coronavirus crisis had shone a light on the importance of the natural world and the "positive impact nature can have on our health and wellbeing".

"These first pilots will be a key part of our green recovery and help kick-start the creation of over a million acres of joined up habitats that people can enjoy across the country," she added.

Natural England chair Tony Juniper said today's LNRS pilot funding was an "important milestone" in the UK's nature recovery efforts and emphasised that local action was crucial.

"If we wish to have rich and abundant wildlife, more carbon captured in trees, soil and hedges, better protection from extreme weather and enough places for people to gain the wellbeing benefits of good quality green spaces, then we must invest in nature's recovery, and at scale," he said.

"We look forward to working with our partners in these five areas to create bigger, better and more connected natural places to halt and then reverse the decline in our environment."

The move comes as the government embarks on a recruitment process for the first chair of the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), the new watchdog that is being set up to oversee the UK's environmental laws, regulations, and targets post-Brexit.

The Environment Bill is expected to come back to Parliament after MPs return from the summer recess in order to ensure its passage into law before the Brexit transition period ends.

The government has repeatedly argued that the Environment Bill and accompanying Agriculture Bill will serve to maintain and enhance environmental protections, enabling increased investment in ecosystems and habitats as the UK works to improve its biodiversity and climate resilience.

However, widespread concerns remain over the strength and remit of the OEP as well as the short-time frame left to ensure a robust regulatory and enforcement framework is in place to oversee environmental protection in the UK when the country leaves the auspices of the European Union at the end of December.

Green groups have warned that at present, the UK is on course to have a weaker set of environmental protections from 2021 than it did as an EU member, and that future free trade deals with the US and others could further undermine the UK's environmental standards - a charge government ministers have repeatedly rejected.

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• Topics
• Politics
• Biodiversity
• Defra
• Tony Juniper