By Dr Tim Hill, Chief Scientist at Natural England
Science, evidence and evaluation sit at the heart of Natural England. Our teams work across a range of ecological, earth, economic and social sciences. With a strong focus on collaboration with a range of partners, we work to safeguard and enhance our biodiversity and geodiversity for people and nature.
In celebration of British Science Week, I am proud to highlight the amazing work of Natural England’s science and scientists across our organisation, and the ongoing commitment and dedication our teams here at Natural England have in creating more nature-rich places for generations to come.
The theme of this year’s British Science Week is ‘Time’ and so, I’d like to use this as an opportunity to celebrate our work in exploring our country’s heritage, where we are at present and our goals for the future. We have a team of Earth Scientists, for example, who are tasked with the conservation and enhancement of our rich and extremely diverse geological and geomorphological heritage representing around 600 million years of time. This ensures that the places, features and fossils which enable us to understand the history of our planet, past environmental change, and the evolution and adaption of life adaptation in response to these changes, are conserved and managed, enabling us to understand the past and plan for the future.
We have life scientists working to conserve and enhance England’s biodiversity, and we have social scientists looking at how people interact with the environment. We also have teams assessing and evaluating our past and current work to ascertain what has worked/is working best for people, places, and nature, and we have Futures Specialists who scan the horizon to assess what issues are emerging and how they may affect our future. Science truly is at the core of all we do.
The way we do our science has changed tremendously across the decades. We use scientific advancements that were unimaginable when Natural England’s predecessor bodies were first established. For example, Environmental DNA (eDNA) identifies species present in a particular environment from small samples. We conduct Environmental DNA ‘Bioblitzes’, which assess all the biodiversity of a given location. Earth observation from satellites would have been pure science fiction when the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act came into force; Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging,) was first used in the 1960s and is now routinely used to identify tiny height differences across sites that are essential for understanding water movement across sites. It goes almost without saying the computers we use every day - whether simply to send an email or to process huge datasets - are far more powerful now than the first computers we used when the organisation began. The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the rate at which technology is evolving presents exciting possibilities for the future, especially in terms of data analysis and geographic information.
Our National Nature Reserves (NNRs) have been open-air workshops since Yarner Wood, now part of East Dartmoor Woods and Heaths NNR, was purchased in 1952. Research on NNRs continues today with new NNRs designated each year, opening up further opportunities to learn what conservation actions work best.
Just over a year ago, Government launched its Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which arose from the 25 Year Environment Plan (25YEP). We’ve already been successful in achieving some of the targets set out in the EIP. For example, the recent closure of sandeel fisheries in the English North Sea waters. The closure will bring a number of benefits to the area, including the recovery of sandeel populations; they are a vital food source for commercially important seafood species such as haddock and whiting as well as benefitting seabirds and porpoises. It was our evidence and advice to government that made the decision to close the area possible.
Natural England has been working closely with JNCC to provide the Marine Management Organisation with the conservation advice and evidence needed to protect species such as pink sea fans, fragile sponges, and anemones, and sensitive features, such as rocky and biogenic reef, from the effects of bottom trawling. This work is critical for preserving our marine environments, which play a significant part in the overall health of our planet.
Underpinning all this work is Natural England’s Science, Evidence and Evaluation Strategy, which describes how a good understanding of the evidence base is crucial to our work. From understanding environmental changes to what works in nature recovery, it sets out our goals to continually improve the evidence base, to invest in the scientific expertise of our staff and to work with our partners to drive innovative approaches, and to share our knowledge and understanding.
Time is against us for addressing the twin challenges of biodiversity decline and climate change, so we must utilise the science and continue to focus on the most effective tools and research to aid nature’s recovery for both people and our planet.
Learn more about the work of Natural England's science and evidence in our short video, and find our Science, Evidence and Evaluation Strategy here:
Science Evidence and Evaluation Strategy - NE764 (naturalengland.org.uk)
]]>By David Renwick, Regional Director for the North at Natural England
Last week saw a momentous week for nature across the north with the second annual Nature North conference in Newcastle and the Convention of the North in Leeds.
As a proud Northerner, North Regional Director for Natural England and board member for Nature North, I believe the amazing nature we have in the North needs us, as much as we need it.
Working for Natural England – we have a vision of thriving nature for people and planet – and a mission to build partnerships for nature’s recovery. The Nature North partnership is a shining example of how we can achieve that, at scale.
Nature North 2024 saw delegates attending from the conservation sector, farming, business, finance, culture, NHS, Local Government and Government Agencies. The day brought together the north’s nature leaders and pioneers to share ideas and learning, join up and drive ambition so we can secure new investment and unlock the many benefits of large-scale nature recovery for people and places across the North of England.
It was great to hear the rich discussion focused around the 7 Investable Propositions which will build a more coherent, strategic and investment-focused approach to enhancing nature in the north, including how we develop the ambition for resilient northern farming with farmers, land managers and nature organisations working together to deliver a range of outcomes from landscapes, including high quality food, rich nature, benefits for water and people.
We announced plans for the ‘Nature North Strategic Investment Plan’ which will help build scalability, confidence and visibility to such investment. Connecting investors with projects and providing businesses the opportunity to invest in Northern nature.
Throughout 2024, Nature North will be working with stakeholders from all sectors across the North, to create the Strategic Investment Plan, which will launch in Spring 2025.
One thing that is clear is that nature recovery will happen on the ground, in places where people live and work, and can enjoy nature, across our cities and towns, and rural landscapes.
Local Nature Recovery Strategies are being developed across the North setting out priorities for nature and helping develop pipelines of projects that can become investible. These LNRS could add up to a bigger vision for nature across the North and align with wider plans that mayors and local authorities have for their areas. We want functional and resilient nature at a bigger scale – essential as we see the effects of climate change take hold.
With nearly 90% of the North soon to be covered by a devolution deal, we have the opportunity to work with leaders across the north to ensure nature can deliver outcomes for others – health and wellbeing, green jobs and investment.
As part of the Northern Place and Culture partnership, we are working with NP11, the Northern group of Local Enterprise Partnerships, together with Arts Council England, Environment Agency, Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund to drive forward the Place Strategy for the North.
Arts, culture, heritage and nature make important contributions to economic growth and job creation across the North, as well as other major national priorities such as meeting net zero targets, regenerating town and city centres and boosting pride and wellbeing among communities.
We are working through this partnership to collaborate with northern place leaders to ensure nature is part of the emerging plans and further position nature as a crucial ingredient in a more devolved and confident North.
The Convention of the North is the North of England’s flagship annual gathering for business, political and civic society leaders, to debate the challenges and opportunities facing the region. This year the Convention was held in Leeds at the Royal Armouries, but there was no battle or war to get people to recognise the value of nature to the north.
I'm delighted that after five years of work from a range of partners, since the 2019 Convention of the North in Rotherham, we have made significant progress in positioning nature and as threads in the Manifesto for the North, and specifically as part of both the Net Zero and Place and People priorities. The Manifesto is aimed at all parties and helps articulate what public, private and third sectors think the North needs for it to prosper.
The policy input for the Manifesto propositions can be found here:
https://www.conventionofthenorth.org.uk/publications/
The convention of the North allowed us to drive forward this ambition. Here, nature alongside culture, heritage and the wider environment connected with other key sectors – trade and investment, clean growth, digital, innovation and place making.
The year ahead holds exciting opportunities to work with our pan-northern partnerships, with leaders, sector organisations, business and communities across the north to not only ensure we can create improved resilience and better outcomes for nature, but that nature can help secure a thriving place for people and the economy.
]]>Many wild animals and plants are protected by legislation such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. As nature conservation adviser and regulator, one of Natural England’s roles is to licence certain activities that may disturb or harm wildlife, in line with the legal framework established by Parliament.
Each year, as part of our commitment to transparency, we publish a summary of the wildlife licences we have issued and the data for 2023 are now available here.
In our 2023 summary, the licences again fall into four main categories:
The Natural England Wildlife Licensing Service, with the support of specialists, issues more than 12,000 licences each year. 9000 of the protected species licences are for science and conservation purposes, more than for any other activity. This enables direct conservation action, scientific research and monitoring to improve our understanding of many rare and declining species so we can better protect and conserve them in future. An example of this is the Darwin Tree of Life Project which has required licences permitting the possession of whole or part specimens of certain plants and animals such as the pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly and barberry carpet moth.
Natural England has issued three licences in 2023 for the release of beavers into large-fenced enclosures. Some of these releases have been part of natural flood management projects studying how beavers transform a landscape and help slow the flow of water. The initial release is usually of a male and female pair of beavers, in the hope that they will reproduce to form small family groups. This has resulted in a number of beavers being born in England and in 2023 some projects were reporting the birth of a second litter of kits. We have also issued 193 beaver management class licence registrations to enable suitably trained people to manage any conflicts with the increasing activities and numbers of free-living beavers in the south-east and south-west of England.
The legislation sets out the limited purposes for which we may grant a licence to take, kill or disturb wildlife or impact upon their habitat. These include preserving public health and public safety or air safety, preventing spread of disease, preventing serious damage to crops, livestock and property.
Licences are only issued if all relevant criteria are met following a review of the purpose of the application, alternatives and methods, and the scientific context relating to it. Wildlife management and licensing is often a balancing act in finding a solution that enables the customer to satisfactorily achieve their aim in a way that has the least impact on the protected species. This could include changing the timing, location or methods of the proposed activity or requesting additional compensation.
Among the licences issued last year were those for the removal of bird nests that had been built in places that were causing a risk to public health or public safety. The following are some examples:
In some circumstances when there is a high risk to public health or public safety licences may be issued for the year authorising lethal control of multiple bird species or the taking of higher numbers of birds or eggs than for other types of licences. This is to ensure that in urgent situations, such as when there is a risk to aircraft, action can be taken immediately, without having to wait for a licence modification with a specific number. In most of these cases, the actual numbers of birds or eggs taken will be much lower than permitted by the licence.
Licences are only ever issued when there is deemed to be no effect on the conservation status of the birds involved. Where a renewal of a licence is requested, the numbers and species are reviewed and will be reduced the following year where appropriate.
We continue to seek improvements in wildlife licensing by finding approaches that save time while maintaining and improving the conservation status of the species. This has included 236 new or renewed licences for District Level Licensing (DLL) for Great Crested Newts (GCN) which involves applicants making a conservation payment based on the predicted impact of their development or activity. This payment covers the creation or restoration of ponds in areas which are known to represent the best places for newts to thrive.
The DLL scheme now operates in 133 Local Planning Authorities and has generated over £33 million for GCN conservation. This has funded the creation of 3,000 ponds and 2023 saw the highest occupancy rate of GCN in DLL ponds since the launch of the scheme.
The full wildlife licensing statistics are on GOV.UK. For further information on any of the data please contact us via: enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk.
]]>In our third Natural England instructional Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) guest blog, legal professionals offer helpful insights into securing off-site Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).
Our guest bloggers are:
Off-site means any biodiversity gains to be delivered on land outside of the red-line boundary of a development. Any land proposed for use for off-site BNG must be a registered biodiversity gain site. To be eligible for registration on the gain site register, land must be secured by one of two legal mechanisms. The first are planning obligations with local planning authorities (LPAs) under section 106 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (the Act). The second legal mechanism is conservation covenants.
Planning obligations
A planning obligation is a legal agreement between the planning authority and a person or persons with an interest in the land. An obligation can require a person to do something on land or restrict what can be done on land and may be conditional or unconditional. Planning obligations are registered as Local Land Charges. They run with the land and are enforceable against the people entering into the obligation and their successors, such as a subsequent owners of the land. All planning obligations must be legal instruments executed as deeds.
Conservation covenants
A conservation covenant is a private, voluntary agreement between a landowner and a “responsible” body, such as a conservation charity, government body or a local authority. It delivers lasting conservation benefit for the public good. A covenant sets out obligations in respect of the land which will be legally binding not only on the landowner but on subsequent owners of the land. So far these have yet to be used (at the time of writing). See the list of designated responsible bodies.
The information that follows are the views of the authors and should not be interpreted as official advice.
Penny Simpson - Freeths
1. Avoid common confusion!
Even though planning obligations are usually used by landowners and LPAs to facilitate the grant of a planning permission, they can be used ‘standalone’. That is, they can be used without any linked planning application when securing off-site biodiversity units (BUs), unless the habitat enhancement works needed planning consent. Be assured that this is perfectly OK!
We anticipate a s106 agreement being used to secure off-site BUs so that the landowner can get covenants back from the LPA. This is in contrast to a unilateral undertaking which can only consist of ‘one way’ promises from the landowner to the LPA.
2. The planning obligation requires two provisions
The planning obligation will need a schedule containing the habitat enhancement works which give rise to the BUs. It will also need to contain the ‘at least 30 years’ management and maintenance obligations relating to those enhancements. These two provisions need to be clearly and separately stated. This is because the 30-year maintenance obligation imposed by the legislation must start after the completion of the habitat enhancement works (see s100(2)(b) Environment Act 2021).
This can be tricky where the intention is to allow the land to re-wild gradually. Nevertheless, in all situations, there needs to be clear obligations over the habitat enhancement works as well as obligations for the 30-year maintenance period which starts from the completion of those enhancement works. Guidance is available to help with this.
3. Other considerations for landowners and LPAs
Careful thought is needed in drafting:
(i) the LPA’s rights and obligations to monitor and enforce the landowner’s obligations
(ii) the landowner’s payments to the LPA to fund the LPA’s monitoring and enforcement role
We would expect an LPA to receive regular monitoring reports from the landowner over the 30-year maintenance period. We would also expect the LPA to have land entry and step in rights to allow it to effectively enforce the landowner’s obligations. In addition, we would expect the landowner to agree to providing reasonable funds to allow the LPA to perform this role. For example, an up-front lump sum or interim payments over the 30-year period.
Grace Pinault - Dentons
1. Offsite BNG
LPAs should ultimately consider whether there is sufficient control over the off-site BNG land to ensure the performance of monitoring and maintenance requirements over the 30-year period.
Where the 'donor' habitat bank is located has several implications for LPAs. LPAs will only be able to enforce section 106 obligations within its jurisdiction. Also, the statutory biodiversity metric reduces the number of habitat units generated for off-site works outside of the boundary of the LPA or National Character Area (NCA). Habitat units from neighbouring LPAs or NCAs will be reduced by 25%. Habitat units from outside neighbouring LPAs or NCAs will be reduced by 50%. Gaining insight into where the land will be is necessary for LPAs to understand how many habitat units are required.
2. Flexibility
LPAs should consider whether it is acceptable in planning terms to vary the amount of BNG between phases of development. Delaying BNG delivery to the later phases of development may be justified but risks non-delivery. Under the new regime, LPAs adopting this approach must be satisfied that the development will still achieve its biodiversity gain objective across the site.
BNG could also be a material consideration in the grant of some planning consents. In schemes where a masterplan or BNG is still subject to change, LPAs should be mindful of what subsequent approvals are needed to secure the desired level of BNG.
3. Conservation covenants
A conservation covenant is a legal agreement between a landowner and a responsible body. The responsible body could be a:
The responsible body can enter into conservation covenant to secure habitat enhancements anywhere.
Conservation covenants will be enforceable by the responsible body that is party to the agreement. LPAs entering into conservation covenants should consider whether they can appropriately monitor the land and, if necessary, enforce against landowners. LPAs wishing to attract enhancements to support strategic habitat sites could benefit from the use of conservation covenants.
David Short - Lux Nova Partners
The following tips are based on experience so far with legal agreements to enable sale of biodiversity units from farmer led enhancement projects. Our first suggestion is to do your baseline early and use a good ecologist. This helps to see if you have a biodiversity enhancement project that will work and be worth it, before even thinking about legal agreements.
1. Enter into a legal agreement
To create and sell biodiversity units, you will need to find an organisation that will hold you to account using either a S106 agreement or a conservation covenant. You will need to talk to your LPA or find some other ‘responsible body’ (of which there are practically none at the moment!) that will enter into this legal agreement with you. This may be the greatest challenge as this is very new to all involved.
2. Find buyers for your biodiversity units
You will need to find buyers for your biodiversity units, so think about how you are going to do that. Buyers will typically be developers that need units for planning applications. For example, housing developers or infrastructure companies.
How are you going to market and sell your units? The government will not do this for you, so you may try local brokers or one of the new online marketplaces for biodiversity units.
3. Consider an ‘option agreement’ transaction
Once you have a buyer, both parties will need to enter a contract to give effect to the sale. This involves transferring or allocating the units to the developer and securing payment from the developer to the seller. This is a new type of transaction with no established precedents. It is likely a developer will want to start with an ‘option agreement’. Under this, developers can reserve the option to purchase the units upon receiving planning permission, by paying a non-refundable deposit to the seller. The remainder paid if the developers exercise the option. This means that when the developer successfully obtains their planning permission, they pay the remainder. The deposit, or reserve fee, is paid upon signing the option agreement, effectively rewarding the landowner for reserving units during the option period.
The information shared here offers insights rather than legal advice. For queries regarding contracting for BNG, seek advice from a legal expert tailored to your specific situation.
]]>By Ruth Lamont, Principal Adviser in Research Ethics & Dave Bell, Principal Adviser in Health, Wellbeing and the Environment, at Natural England
We know that nature, human health and well-being are intrinsically linked, and this week, Natural England has released its most extensive review to date on this topic.
Nature is life. It underpins everything we do. It provides us with clean air, food, water and shelter. It regulates our climate and controls disease. It is fundamental to our health and well-being.
Natural England’s newly published ‘review of reviews’ screened over 2,000 evidence reviews and identified 104 key publications that inform our understanding of the relationships between nature and human health and wellbeing.
The report summarises key evidence for the benefits of nature-based interventions for people, like outdoor exercise, education and gardening. Conversely, it also highlights evidence for the negative impacts of contaminated and degraded nature on human health and well-being, and outlines where more research is needed. This includes showing how nature improvement activity impacts those living nearby.
Evidence reviews like this are key to understanding how improvements in nature could also benefit human health and well-being, identifying opportunities for collaborative action.
Wider support across government is a move in the right direction
England’s Environmental Improvement Plan offers a strong framework to enable this collaborative action, including the goal for everyone to live within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space, and action to reduce other barriers which prevent people from accessing these spaces.
It is also encouraging to see growing cross-sector recognition for the benefits of nature. Green social prescribing is embedded within the NHS long term plan, and accessible greenspace is highlighted as a determinant of health in the Department for Health and Social Care’s 'Major Conditions Strategy’. The Department for Education’s ‘Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy’ (2022) draws on learning in the natural environment for physical and mental health, and the Government’s Levelling up Missions note the importance of access to natural spaces. These are all important steps forward.
What next?
We will better realise nature’s full potential and optimise its benefits for our health and well-being if we continue to work across-government and through partnerships, taking an evidence-led approach.
At Natural England, we will continue to build partnerships and a robust evidence base around the links between nature, and health and well-being.
If you would like to get in touch or join our growing network on this important topic, contact dave.bell@naturalengland.org.uk
Sustainable farming is vital. Both food production and nature rely on healthy soils, clean water and air, and farmers can have a big impact.
Environmentally friendly farming isn’t just good for nature either; done right, it can boost food production and provide farmers and landowners with financial incentives too. It’s a win-win.
To help ensure farmers have access to the latest research and knowledge, we have helped facilitate the East Midlands Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) team to provide a free event for farmers from across the Midlands and beyond.
Bringing farmers together
On the first Wednesday of each month, farmers from as far afield as Cumbria, Louth and Cirencester travel to our farm, Woodborough Park Farm in Nottinghamshire, to discover the latest sustainable farming practices at the CSF Arable Knowledge Hub.
The monthly event features a presentation on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) from leading East Midlands farmer, consultant and agronomist Andrew Wells, covering the different SFI options and how to apply.
Visitors then board a trailer for a brief tour of the farm, stopping off to see field-scale demonstrations of herbal leys, legume fallows, winter cover crops, and more. Although this year it is more of a demonstration of how not to do it than how to do it well!
Woodborough Park Farm is hopefully a fitting venue for the event. Stretching to 240ha, our predominantly arable farm is situated in picturesque but topographically challenging countryside, just seven miles north of Nottingham city centre.
We have been farming here since 2004 and have enthusiastically embraced Environmental Stewardship since we arrived.
Our Entry Level Stewardship/Higher Level Stewardship agreement, which replaced an original Countryside Stewardship agreement, is due to expire later this year.
We very much hope therefore that our farm at Woodborough is a good venue to help provide an SFI knowledge hub. I say hub rather than ‘demonstration farm’ because, like so many other farmers at the moment, we are unsure as to precisely what we should be doing.
However, by showcasing some of the options available under the scheme, we can at least help initiate an open and honest discussion regarding the benefits and possible pitfalls. We are there to learn alongside everyone else.
Benefits for farmers and the environment
The Arable Knowledge Hub event is a continuation of a similar project in the Peak District called the White Peak Trials. I attended a White Peak Trials event last July (last Friday of the month between April-October), to learn more about herbal leys and came away feeling it had been one of the most inspiring events I had been to for years.
A pitfall of asking too many questions on the day was to discover that Natural England had been looking for an East Midlands arable farmer to work with, and after further discussions with the CSF team, the Arable Knowledge Hub was formed.
Like the Arable Knowledge Hub, the White Peak Trials bring together farmers - from across the Peak District and beyond - to share knowledge and best practice, particularly around herbal leys. Herbal leys are temporary grasslands made up of legume, herb and grass species and so are beneficial for pollinators, soil, water, natural flood management, air and farm productivity.
That is a lot of potential boxes to tick, and so we ended up planting 25ha in early September 2023, which, despite the dreadful weather we have endured since, has established well. We may yet plant significantly more in 2024.
Herbal leys are just one option under the SFI. You can explore the full range of what’s available for your farm by joining us at a future Arable Knowledge Hub or White Peak Trials event.
You can view and book onto further events on the CSF farm Knowledge Hub Eventbrite page.
More information about Catchment Sensitive Farming
Catchment Sensitive Farming is a joint project led by Natural England, in partnership with the Environment Agency and Defra, that works with farmers and partners across England to produce food in a way that protects water, air and soil.
Further information, including contact details for your local CSF adviser, is available on the Catchment Sensitive Farming page.
]]>Returning home from this week’s NFU Conference I am reflecting on how it always represents a significant moment for farming in England and Wales.
Even more significant this year for two reasons; it marked the end of Minette Batters’ Presidency and strong leadership and secondly, for the first time in many years the Prime Minister spoke.
The theme was “British Food, what plan for the future” and it had a strong focus on future policies in support of food production.
The Prime Minister committed to enhancing the management payments for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and also rolling these across to Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier agreements, as well as a range of productivity related grants to support food production.
It’s clear that many farmers are still finding their way through the transition but there was a clear acceptance of the need to respond to Environmental Land Management (ELM) incentives now on offer and a willingness to do so. As Minette set out in her opening address, “Food production and the environment are two sides of the same coin”.
Such a shift in support policy is bound to produce uncertainty and significant changes for what are essentially thousands of family-run farm businesses, like my own in Worcestershire and it was good to hear the mental health challenges of change being acknowledged so openly.
It is more important than ever that we look out for each other and NE farm advice staff, many of whom are also from farming families, have been taking part in mental health awareness training delivered by the Farming Community Network for some years now. Likewise, there were concerns addressed around some of the potential unintended consequences of the transition, such as impacts on land tenure, farm profitability and impacts on food production.
But there was a real sense of farmers wishing to make the changes work and an emphasis on the fact that farmers can provide the solutions to the demands of both food production and the environment.
Finding the balance of that within an individual farming business is key but I was reassured that for farmers in England ELM provides a choice and flexibility, as opposed to more blunt mechanisms that we may have seen in the past.
At Natural England we recognise the enormity of this change for farming families but also the opportunities this can bring. Our 500 farm and land management advisers work with over 35,000 farmers on a daily basis helping them consider, manage and develop environmental initiatives on their farms, for the benefit of our natural environment, the wider public and the sustainability of the natural resources and systems that underpin profitable farms.
We have this year alone helped 507 farms to enter Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship Schemes and supported 28 Landscape Recovery Schemes. Both of these will bring public payments for work that help meets the Government’s statutory targets for nature but as importantly help farmers enter new environmental markets.
Only by working together in this kind of partnership can we benefit from each other's areas of expertise and achieve our shared ambition of thriving farm businesses delivering sustainable food production whilst maintaining and enhancing our natural environment, thereby delivering Environmental Improvement Plan commitments.
We remain committed to this ambition and will constantly focus our efforts on making those local and trusted relations work as well as possible.
]]>Welcome to our second Natural England instructional Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) guest blog. We are pleased to have distinguished experts share their 3 top tips on Biodiversity Net Gain stewardship. They are:
Claire Wansbury, FCIEEM FLS, Technical Director at AtkinsRéalis
My three top tips to manage and maintain habitats to deliver BNG are:
1. Targeting realistic habitats
When planning habitat creation or enhancement, it is vital to start with an achievable target for a site. If this first step is right, everything that follows is so much easier.
Be realistic in the habitats you plan, taking the conditions of the site into account such as soil, hydrology, and future weather scenarios. For example, species-rich grassland needs nutrient-poor soil. Getting nutrient levels right for the target habitat will make creation and maintenance much easier.
The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) has recently published Biodiversity Net Gain: Good Practice Principles for Development, A Practical Guide. It outlines ten principles for ecological restoration in the UK, focusing on habitat and ecosystem scales of restoration. It aims at practitioners in land and water management for development projects.
2. Practical paperwork
Land used for BNG offsetting will require a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan (HMMP). Guidance and a template are available to help with this.
When completing the plan, it’s important to keep language simple and not to assume the end user has detailed ecological knowledge. Technical terms and scientific species names can be off-putting, which risks the plan being shelved and never referred to again. It’s vital to be specific and to consider species when managing the habitat. For example, if coppicing scrub is required to encourage new growth, the plan should state that this needs to be outside the bird nesting season.
3. Adaptive management
BNG agreements commit to managing created or enhanced habitats for 30 years. Many things can change during that time, such as colonisation by an invasive plant, a pollution event on site or changes in weather because of a changing climate. A good management plan is a living document, which can be updated if monitoring shows it’s not having the desired results (adaptive management).
Sam Arthur, Director and Oliver Grice-Jackson, Associate Ecologist at FPCR Environment and Design Ltd
Our three top tips for successful BNG delivery include:
1. Setting appropriate targets
It's crucial to set feasible targets in the metric and HMMP. Targets should include enhancing land realistically for nature recovery. Consider factors like:
The key to successful BNG projects lies in setting appropriate, achievable targets. Setting realistic targets based on thorough assessment of land characteristics, especially soil properties, ensures the right habitat creation for effective nature recovery. It is also vital to have a good understanding of the local BNG market before you commit to investing in a project.
2. Working with a great project team
A skilled team is essential, including ecologists, landscape architects, land managers, legal professionals, and BNG brokers. Each plays a critical role in assessing, monitoring, designing, managing, navigating legalities, and handling the commercial aspects of BNG projects.
3. Planning for challenges
Anticipate and prepare for potential challenges over the 30-year management period. This involves planning for adaptability and resilience to address variables like climate change, invasive species, and new pests and diseases. Identifying risks, setting measurable trigger points for action, and including remediation plans in the cost plan are essential.
Sue Charlton, Associate Ecologist at Environment Bank
My three top tips for managing and maintaining habitats for BNG are:
1. Know your land
Understanding your site is key, think about:
This will guide habitat design, conservation goals, and long-term management strategies. It also provides context for monitoring the results, showing what’s working, and identifying any necessary management tweaks.
2. Consider your resources
Not just money, but any local resources available. Ask yourself...
Do you require grazing? If yes...
Do you require any machinery? If yes...
Remember, if you’re contracting machinery for things like meadow cutting, you may be last on the list if it’s harvest time!
3. Embrace the unexpected
Flexibility in your management is a must – at any stage!
We can set schedules for grassland cuts and livestock grazing, but management often depends on things outside our control, like the (increasingly unpredictable) weather.
Your management strategy will also depend on what you’ve done in the past. It may change depending on your stage in the project.
So, enjoy the journey! Nothing compares to seeing habitats reach their potential and watching wildlife flourish as a result.
Further information
These experts collectively stress the importance of collaboration, adaptability, and expertise in achieving successful BNG stewardship, contributing to a better future for nature and people.
Claire is an AtkinsRéalis Fellow and was the Society for the Environment’s Environmental Professional of the Year 2023, with over 30 years’ experience. For over a decade she has worked on novel ways of looking at how major infrastructure projects interact with the natural environment, particularly through BNG and Natural Capital approaches.
Sam and Oli have over a decade of experience in BNG projects. They’ve collaborated with Natural England on creating a range of the published BNG tools. They have conducted 100s of on site BNG assessments and have a large portfolio of off site projects being designed and delivered. They have also worked alongside Local Authorities to:
Sue, an Associate Ecologist at Environment Bank, has dedicated her career to managing landscape-scale nature projects and providing valuable advice. More recently, she has spent the past two years working with Environment Bank, actively involved in co-creating Habitat Banks in partnership with landowners.
]]>In November 2023, Defra published BNG guidance on GOV.UK to help local planning authorities, developers, landowners, and others prepare. It tells you everything you need to know now BNG has become law.
Looking ahead to the new BNG Service
The Biodiversity Gain Site Register will provide a publicly accessible source of information about off-site gains across England. Natural England is the ‘Register Operator’ on behalf of Defra. The Register is one part of the BNG Service which went live when BNG became mandatory. The Service includes a collection of new digital and other services local planning authorities, developers, landowners, and others will need to be BNG compliant.
Getting BNG ready has been a real team effort. We have worked closely with our stakeholders to develop, build, and test the guidance and digital services needed to help those affected comply with BNG once launched.
More than 275 hours of user research has been carried out in the past 26 months. We have worked closely with over 580 stakeholders including local planning authorities, developers, landowners, ecologists, and others.
We want to thank every stakeholder who has taken part. Their passion and willingness to share knowledge, expertise and most importantly their time has helped us develop better guidance and services for those who will need to use them from day one.
What does the service provide?
Gain Site Register (digital service)
The Gain Site Register enables:
Others using the Register will include ecologists, non-governmental organisations, and the public.
Allocations (downloadable pdf application)
Landowners or developers (with landowner permission) can apply to record an allocation of habitat enhancements to their development.
Statutory biodiversity credits estimator (digital service)
Developers can calculate the cost of statutory credits ahead of purchasing them.
Statutory biodiversity credit sales scheme (downloadable pdf application)
Developers can apply to purchase statutory credits. This will become a digital service in the spring of 2024.
Statutory biodiversity metric calculation tool (MS Excel)
The Tool uses a habitat-based approach to assess an area’s value to wildlife and uses habitat features to calculate a biodiversity value. Find out more about the tool and how to download.
It provides details on how:
Support when you need it
Dedicated teams will also be in place to provide support where needed including an assisted digital service for those who have difficulty accessing information online.
Some parts of the Service including the Register are fully digital today, on day one. Others will become digital in the coming months. We will provide updates on any changes.
Launch is just the beginning of the BNG journey. Our guidance and digital services will improve as they are used, and new digital services are launched. During this time, we will continue our user research with stakeholders.
Want to know more?
If you or anyone you know would be interested in giving feedback on the digital services being developed, please feel free to complete our expression of interest form. We want to hear from developers, landowners, and their representatives.
It would be great to hear from those building smaller housing developments, farmers with smallholdings and anyone who does not use or has trouble accessing the internet.
]]>International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGIS) is an annual UN event, which aims to highlight the work and achievements of women and girls in science, both now and across history. This year, IDWGIS is focusing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable Development is how we live now if we want a better tomorrow, by meeting present needs without compromising the chances of future generations to meet their needs.
As a child at school, I always had a passion for the arts and science. This passion made it difficult to make subject choices. But ‘choose’ I must, said my career’s teacher, and so at the age of 16, I took the science route. At 18, I ventured off to university to become a doctor. But as I went through my first three years as a medical student, I realised things were not working out as I had anticipated. For some reason, I felt like a fish out of water, and so I decided to take a break from my studies.
As faith has always been a big part of my life, I set off to work at a faith-based centre called Lee Abbey. It was there, living by the wild Devon coastline and in a community of musicians and artists, I realised science and creativity aren’t incompatible. They are happy bedfellows, especially in the beauty of nature. Take an orchid for example, science helps me to understand how it grows and the ecosystem within which it lives, but it’s through words, art and music that I can express my wonder at its beauty.
I became inspired to look at stories of women who had brought together nature and creativity, visionaries like Octavia Hill, one of the original founders of the National Trust, for example. When Octavia was 14, her family lost everything and she experienced first-hand how poverty was impacting Londoners. From that experience grew a strong belief in the importance of access to nature for human wellbeing. Her work in urban areas aimed to bring beauty, nature, arts and music to everyone. Her passion for these things, which were also close to my heart, reinvigorated a desire to continue my studies and work towards a science-based career, keeping creativity central to my work.
I re-applied for university - this time to do Environmental Science, and found a place where I felt a deep connection to my studies. After graduating, I joined the Countryside Commission - a predecessor to Natural England, the Government’s adviser on the natural environment. I joined the organisation to help nature thrive and so that more people could experience first-hand the wonder of being in nature.
I took breaks within my career to have children, returning to work part-time, and starting a new role in sustainable development, with a transport focus. It was this that sparked my interest in green infrastructure, how it can be designed to improve the wellbeing of people living in cities and creating places for nature to recover and thrive. I found a particular interest in road verges, green spaces, green bridges and green roofs; I’m proud of my part in making the A556 green bridge happen - being close to my home in Manchester, it quickly became a regular I-spy feature for the children on family road trips!
Now the children are older, I’m back to working full time to champion nature and green infrastructure - not just on roadsides, but across towns and cities for all its compelling benefits for nature, people and climate. I’ve recently started a new role as Natural England’s Sustainable Development Deputy Director. I’ll be bringing a creative mindset to my everyday work and looking for inspiring examples of transformational change, like the first development site to achieve all the UN Sustainable Development goals
If more cities and towns can be creatively designed and managed, with nature and communities at their heart, we will see nature and people thrive. This is something we set out to inspire at Natural England when developing the Green Infrastructure Framework and Design Guide.
Natural England’s People and Nature survey tells us that, for 82% of people ‘being in nature makes me happy’. With the cost-of-living crisis, ‘free’ places like local parks and greenspace, have become even more important. But the value of these spaces for the economy - estimated at £28.7 billion per year - often isn’t taken into account.
Green infrastructure in towns and cities provides places to relax, exercise, and spend time outdoors; cools urban areas; reduces flooding by allowing water to permeate the ground rather than overwhelm our drains; increases biodiversity and helps to reduce inequalities in access to nature. One of the key issues we identified within our research was that many parks and greenspaces aren’t designed with girls in mind, so it’s critical to engage them and give them a voice. This involves drawing on the creative ideas of numerous partners and local communities to make change happen. And change is starting to happen, with projects such as the ‘Greenspace & Us’ initiative showing the benefits of connecting people with nature through community projects.
My perspective has changed considerably since my early careers advice at school, and I’ve proved to myself that science and creativity can go together, through the exciting projects I’ve had a chance to be involved with. The key thing for me, has been working with partners and communities in towns and cities to put nature at their heart. For you, it could look very different, but wherever your career path takes you, always let your creative sparks fly!
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