The LNRS Process
What is a Local Nature Recovery Strategy?
On the Isle of Wight, we have 5,000 hectares of semi-natural habitats,47% of its land surface has legal and policy protection for wildlife, 95% of its coastline is similarly protected, and overlapping with both, 50% of the Island is designated as a National Landscape. The entire Island and all of its inshore waters, including The Solent, were also awarded the status of UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2019. Across the country, natural systems and networks are collapsing at an alarming and unprecedented rate. The UK has experienced significant biodiversity decline and habitat loss over the past 25 years. In response the Government is working with local authorities across England to help them create, and then deliver, Local Nature Recovery Strategies as part of the legal requirement of the Environment Act 2021.
Nature has its own intrinsic value. The decline in nature matters to all of us because of the vital role that wildlife and nature play in supporting our wellbeing, society and economy. Natural systems and processes provides the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, and many of the resources we need to survive and maintain our quality of life. Reversing this decline will require a coordinated effort across society, as well as an improved understanding of the most important actions for nature recovery at a local level, and how these can be delivered.
The Isle of Wight Local Nature Recovery Strategy will identify desired outcomes for nature recovery, including those considered to be ‘priorities’ as well as potential measures to deliver them. Ultimately, we see the LNRS as being the guiding strategy for nature in the region, enabling collective effort to be focussed where it will have most benefit.
Find out more about local nature recovery strategies on the Government website.
Island Nature is the LNRS for the whole of the Isle of Wight and its intertidal zone, drawing together residents, regulators, the farming, forestry and landowning community, businesses, community groups and environmental organisations in order to shape positive change for wildlife. The strategy will be published by the end of 2024.
What is the Purpose of a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS):
The main purpose of the strategies is to identify locations to create or improve habitat most likely to provide the greatest benefit for nature and the wider environment. The strategies do not force the owners and managers of the land identified to make any changes.
The Environment Act establishes two mechanisms to support the delivery of local nature recovery strategies:
Mandatory biodiversity net gain
A strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities
The strategies will identify where action to achieve net gain will have the most impact and encourage action in these locations through the way net gain is calculated.
Main purposes of an LNRS:
Agree priorities for nature recovery
Map the most valuable existing areas for nature
Map specific proposals for creating or improving habitat for nature and wider environmental goals
LNRS will have a spatial role in Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
LNRS is expected to play a role in Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELM) delivery
LNRS will help Identify other Nature-based solutions (NbS) and potentially direct funding.
What will the LNRS look like?
The Strategy will include:
A statement of biodiversity priorities:
a description of the strategy area and its biodiversity
a description of the opportunities for recovering or enhancing biodiversity in the strategy area
the priorities for recovering or enhancing biodiversity (taking into account the contribution that this can also make to other environmental benefits)
proposals as to potential measures relating to those priorities
A local habitat map, which must identify:
national conservation sites in the strategy area
local nature reserves in the strategy area
other areas which are, or could become, of particular importance for biodiversity, or are areas where the recovery or enhancement of biodiversity could make a particular contribution to other environmental benefits.
What will the LNRS process involve?
Wide engagement with Island residents, landowners, land managers and other stakeholders will be the foundation for LNRS along with mapping and strategy. LNRS will provide a source of evidence for local planning authorities, helping these authorities understand locations important for conserving and enhancing biodiversity. The key steps are:
Map areas of particular importance for biodiversity.
Map areas where nature recovery action has taken (when the strategy is reviewed).
Describe the strategy area, its biodiversity and opportunities for recovery in the written statement.
Agree priorities and identify potential measures for achieving them in the written statement.
Map areas that could become of particular importance using the information in step 4.
The following is a list of actions that will be undertaken, some sequential, others in parallel:
Formation of the LNRS Steering group through the Isle of Wight Biodiversity Partnership (Complete).
Information and Data Gathering - existing documents, plans and strategies (Complete).
Produce a website for the LNRS (Complete) with regular updates (Ongoing).
Develop an Engagement Plan identifying key stakeholders (Complete).
Start to map areas that are of particular importance for biodiversity - add locally held data to the national habitat map, including locally identified wildlife sites.
Identify the long list of species which are important to the local area with the help of the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeology Society specialists and recorders (final amendments underway).
Initiate key stakeholder groups (Underway).
Engagement with stakeholders on priorities for nature recovery – identification of outcomes, achieved through creation or improvement of habitat and categorisation of those outcomes into priorities – creation of a long list of potential priorities and measures.
Consult stakeholders on species that are of importance to the local area.
Complete baseline Local Habitat Map with Areas of Particular Importance for Biodiversity mapped (Designated Sites, Local Nature Reserves, Local Wildlife Sites and Irreplaceable Habitat) (Completed to draft).
Engagement with stakeholders on Statement of Biodiversity Priorities: identify measures for creating or improving habitat to achieve the priority and other outcomes – shortlisting of final list of priorities and measures as agreed by partners (ensure the priorities are ambitious, manageable and deliverable) (Underway).
Shortlisting of species that are a priority for the local area by utilising the species guidance.
Development of Local Habitat Map – mapping of suitable locations for the delivery of the potential measures onto map of existing habitat (ensure map reflects what partners want to achieve; is easy to understand for a wide range of audiences; demonstrate a clear link between the measures mapped on LHM and the SBP; areas mapped are ambitious, manageable and deliverable).
Finalise draft of Statement of Biodiversity Priorities (SBP) and Local Habitat Map (LHM).
Finalise first draft of LNRS.
Agree consultation draft within internal Committee structure.
Provide consultation draft to supporting authorities and neighbouring Responsible Authorities.
Provide consultation draft to stakeholders.
Launch public consultation on draft LNRS.
Collate and publish responses to consultation on draft LNRS.
Statement of Biodiversity Priorities (SBP) - review priorities and measures in response to consultation responses and ensure they reflect what the RA and partners want to achieve.
Ensure priorities and measures are ambitious, manageable and deliverable.
Local Habitat Map (LHM) – revise LHM in response to the consultation but ensure it reflects what RA and partners want to achieve.
Ensure the LHM:
is easy to understand for a wide range of audiences;
demonstrates a clear link between the measures mapped on the LHM and the Statement of Biodiversity Priorities;
ensures the areas identified in the LHM are ambitious, manageable and deliverable.
Approve final draft LNRS through RA internal Committee/Governance Process.
Provide final draft LNRS to supporting authorities and neighbouring Responsible Authorities
Inform supporting authorities of the intended date for publication of LNRS