The West of England is set to launch its Local Nature Recovery Strategy on Thursday, 7 November, at the West of England Nature Partnership conference supported by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority. This strategy will be the first of its kind in England to be published.
This watershed moment will accelerate the momentum built with the West of England Nature Partnership across the region over recent years. This progress has seen, and plans for, the return of important native species to our part of the world including beavers, not seen on the Bristol Avon for some 400 years; glow-worms on Severnside; and growing fish populations around Capricorn Quay.
In a call to action to the West's businesses and landowners ahead of Thursday’s conference, Dan Norris, the Mayor of the West of England, said:
"People from the towns, villages, and cities of the West of England love wildlife and nature. From the majestic kingfishers along the Kennet & Avon Canal, to mighty ancient oaks in Pensford and vibrant pollinator patches in Bristol’s parks, our region is home to some wonderful species.
"But, for too long, our natural world has been under threat. The ecological emergency has seen species dwindle and die out. As the birthplace of the BBC Natural History Unit, and the launchpad of Sir David Attenborough, the West of England has shone a light on those stories. Our region has helped focus minds around the globe on what is at risk and what has already been lost because of human activity.
"This new joint strategy — the first of its kind in the country — will put our region on the map with an ambitious plan to support nature to recover and thrive in every corner of the West of England. With investment from businesses and landowners across our region, and everyone doing their bit, the future looks bright once again."
Welcoming the launch, Nature Minister Mary Creagh said:
“Nature underpins everything - the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat – and we urgently need to halt and reverse its decline across the country.
“Local Nature Recovery Strategies like this one will lay out a path to creating places where people, plants and wildlife can thrive. Closer collaboration between communities, businesses and local partners will put nature on the road to recovery for the next generation."
Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said:
“England is currently one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. To protect the web of life that we depend on for our health, wealth and security, we must take cooperative action across every level of society to restore nature. This includes at the local level.
“The first LNRS marks a significant step forward for nature recovery efforts, pioneering a locally led approach to restoring landscapes and habitats at scale. At Natural England, we’ll continue to work closely with local partners across the country to develop strategies for improvements to nature on the ground.
“Embracing this devolved approach to restoring nature on our doorsteps will help us to harness the power of joined up and collaborative action to meet our national targets while bringing a wide range of benefits for people.”
The publication of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy will be accompanied by a bespoke toolkit to inform action for nature across the West of England. Showcased at the conference, the West of England Nature Partnership’s nine recovery programmes offer a range of options that not only bring people together to put nature back together, but also help build regional climate resilience, contribute to Net Zero targets and support public health outcomes. In addition to attracting green investment to sustain this ground-breaking, landscape-scale transformation for the long term.
The launch of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, the first of its kind in England, follows a consultation period earlier in the summer. It represents a successful collaboration between the Mayoral Combined Authority, supporting authorities, NGOs and many others, working alongside Natural England to co-develop the strategy. The West of England Nature Partnership and Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership were key in supporting the development of the strategy, leveraging their expertise and highly collaborative approaches.
This follows other major environmental initiatives by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to help tackle the interconnected ecological and climate crises, including a £1 million fund for communities to join efforts for the West of England to become the Bee and Pollinator Capital of the UK and a £2 million loan to support the creation of a new forest in the Chew Valley across 420 acres of habitat, which could eventually be home to 100,000 trees, the biggest new woodland in the South West for a generation.
Proving that nature recovery and economic growth can go hand-in-hand, the Mayoral Combined Authority has also administered the majority of funding for at least 80 hectares of new wetland habitat, including two hectares of native trees, at Hallen Marsh and Northwick Wetlands as part of natural flood defences. The Avonmouth & Severnside project will expand an internationally important site for waterbirds while reducing flood risk for 2,500 homes and
businesses and unlocking 12,000 new jobs.
More widely, in September Mayor Dan Norris committed the first £10 million towards a new £100 million green investment fund to support the jobs of the future. The emerging ten-year Local Growth Plan complements this work, seeking to bolster innovation in net zero energy, manufacturing, and logistics across the West of England, from the Severn Estuary to the Somer Valley and former Somerset Coalfield. Two new train stations have opened in as many years as part of ambitious plans to offer people reliable low-carbon transport options. And the Mayor last week (28 October) launched the second iteration of Birthday Buses, a free travel scheme which gives everyone in the West of England free bus travel for the month of their birthday. Last year’s scheme saw 1.2 million journeys taken, with an estimated reduction of over 1,100 tonnes of carbon emissions – equivalent to more than 5 million petrol car miles.
https://www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk/