The UK is one of the most nature depleted nations on the planet. For our economic, societal, and health’s sake - let alone our conservative duty to leave the environment in a better state than we found it - we need to take ambitious and pragmatic action to restore nature.
This election, the Conservative Party has recognised the importance of enhancing and protecting nature in its manifesto with pledges to introduce forest risk commodities, open more access to nature routes, and ratify the global oceans treaty. But, they needed to go further and include the creation of conservative, community-empowering local nature recovery zones, a policy the next government should implement to boost nature restoration.
Local nature recovery zones will boost the UK’s depleted nature and wildlife. Across the country, the zones will accommodate a range of strategies including new woodland and wetland creation to restore the UK’s nature. Local authorities in tandem with their Local Nature Recovery Strategies will identify and then designate the zones.
Along with bigger projects like creating new woodlands and wetlands, by rewilding small under-used pockets of public land, growing wildflower roadside verges, and planting street trees, these designated zones will become biodiversity havens, weaving nature throughout our communities. However, some statutory guidance, including planning policy, must be updated to entrust councils to manage their own green spaces for nature.
To successfully deliver local nature recovery zones funding is required and must be allocated to community groups alongside local government, Funding must be a blend sourced from biodiversity net gain, the community infrastructure levy, and government funds.
Communities are best placed to drive nature recovery from identification of suitable zones to delivery. This policy empowers communities to restore their nature, and ensure the measures are sensitive to the area by giving them a voice. Community groups should be offered the chance to buy disused public or ownerless land at a discount for nature restoration projects they control.
Local nature recovery zones will create cleaner greener communities. The zones will give nature a chance to flourish allowing biodiversity to bounce back. Birds, bees and numerous other creatures will return. Communities will reap the benefits of improved air quality, biodiversity, and, for some, mental health due to greater access to nature.
Local nature recovery zones must be implemented by the next government to help restore the UK’s depleted nature. This policy will empower communities to be actively involved in restoring their nature. If the next government fails to make nature restoration a key priority we risk depriving future generations of our rich native biodiversity.
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