• Current progress: England

Current progress: England

In this section:

• White paper: The Natural Choice
• The Lawton Report
• Biodiversity off-setting
• Green Infrastructure

An invitation to shape the nature of England - natural environment white paper

On behalf of the Government, Defra published: 'The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature.', in June 2011.  The paper was the first to be published on the natural environment in 20 years.

The document outlines the Government’s vision for the natural environment and provides guidance on practical action that can be undertaken to deliver the ambition.  The aim is to create a more systematic and strategic approach on how we can best work together to protect and enhance the natural environment and the ecosystem services it provides.

A wide-ranging discussion document was issued in 2010 and over 15000 responses were received.  The key challenges identified include climate change, demographic change and the cumulative effect of a range of incremental impacts.  Other ambitions include halting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation, whilst the risk posed by invasive species was also raised.  Regulation was seen as an important tool and almost essential for achieving change.  Education and communication across all areas of society and government were also considered important.

The plans contained in ‘The Natural Choice’ are directly linked to the groundbreaking research in the National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA), also published in June 2011, that shows the strong economic arguments for safeguarding and enhancing the natural environment.

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Making Space for Nature - The Lawton Report

An independent review of England’s wildlife sites and the connections between them was published in September 2010, with recommendations to help achieve a healthy natural environment that will allow our plants and animals to thrive.

Led by Professor, Sir John Lawton, the review was set up to look at our wildlife sites and whether they are capable of responding and adapting to the growing challenges of  climate change and other demands on our land.

‘Making Space for Nature: a review of England's wildlife sites and ecological networks’ concluded that the current system of wildlife sites “does not comprise a coherent and resilient ecological network”. Professor Lawton recommended:

"...a step-change in our approach to wildlife conservation, from trying to hang onto what we have, to one of large-scale habitat restoration and recreation, under-pinned by the re-establishment of ecological processes and ecosystem services, for the benefits of both people and wildlife.”

The report contained 24 recommendations for action that will benefit wildlife and people.  The report makes the following key points:

• that we improve protection and management of our designated wildlife sites;
• that we establish new Ecological Restoration Zones;
• that we better protect our non-designated wildlife sites;
• that Society’s need to maintain water-quality, manage inland flooding, deal with coastal erosion and enhance carbon storage, if thought about creatively, could help deliver a more effective ecological network.]

In our opinion, to achieve this vision, it is vital that all of the stakeholders play their part - government, local authorities, farmers, developers, local community, etc., and that conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems are an integral part of any masterplan and land or marine management programme. Every decision-maker has a role to play.

The Government response to the Lawton report can be seen here. It was published alongside the white paper described above.

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Biodiversity offsetting

A new process called ‘biodiversity offsetting’ is being discussed as a future conservation tool or at least a funding mechanism for future habitat creation schemes.

The mechanism of biodiversity offsetting is included and discussed further in the Natural Environment White Paper: 'The Natural Choice'.  The process is also mentioned in the Lawton Review, which provides recommendations to underpin the approach, while also highlighting possible risks.  The overall recommendation is that, if a formal system is introduced, pilot schemes should be established to test and refine its operation.

It is expected that the majority, if not all, the funding for biodiversity offsetting will come from the construction industry with developers paying.

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Green Infrastructure

Green Infrastructure, an increasingly used term, refers to the creation and management of a network of high quality green spaces, including areas such as green open space, woodland, parkland, allotments etc.  The aim is for the network of areas to provide a range of environmental and quality-of-life benefits including, amongst others, spaces and corridors for biodiversity, climate change adaptation and outdoor recreational space.

Green Infrastructure is included with the Natural Environment White Paper.   Responses to the paper's consultation document  included considerable support for a requirement that green infrastructure in all new developments.  In the future, developers may be required to provide Green Infrastructure in new developments or preserve existing features of Green Infrastructure.

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