natural choice - the government's environment white paper (published july 2012)

7/31/2019 Natural Choice - the government's Environment White Paper (Published July 2012)

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The Natural Choice:

securing the valueo nature


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Front cover photograph NTPL/John Millar


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The Natural Choice:

securing the valueo nature

Presented to Parliament by the Secretary o State or Environment, Food and Rural Aairs

by Command o Her Majesty

June 2011

CM 8082 20.50


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Contents 1

ContentsForeword by the Secretary o State or Environment, Food and Rural Aairs 2

Executive summary: the natural choice 3

Protecting and improving our natural environment 3

Growing a green economy 4

Reconnecting people and nature 4

International and EU leadership 5

Monitoring and reporting 5

Introduction the case or a better approach 6

Assessing our nations ecosystems : a new understanding 7

Making Space or Nature : protecting and enhancing nature 9

Climate change and demographic change 10

Growing a green economy 10

Wellbeing in a healthier environment 12

Protecting and improving our natural environment 14

A vision or nature 15

Supporting natural networks: a new institutional ramework 18

Restoring the elements o our natural network 23

Growing a green economy 34Putting natural capital at the heart o a green economy 35

Working with business to capture the value o nature 37

Government leading by example 43

Reconnecting people and nature 44

Connecting through natures health service 46

Connecting through education in and about the natural environment 47

Connecting through better neighbourhood access to nature 49

Connecting by improving access to the countryside 52

Connecting by paying back to nature in our most visited landscapes 52Connecting through voluntary action good or us and good or nature 53

International and EU Leadership 58

International leadership 59

Within the EU 62

Conclusion 65

Monitoring and reporting progress 66

Annex 1: Commitments 68

Endnotes 75


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The Natural Choice2

Foreword by the Secretary

o State or Environment,Food and Rural Aairs

Too oten, we take or granted the goods, services and amenity value that nature reely provides us.They risk being lost as a consequence. We can and we must do things dierently. With a new way o thinkingwe can nurture them.

Most people already recognise that nature has an intrinsic value. Over 500 scientists rom around the worldhave now developed a tool by which we can assess more accurately the value o the natural world around us.The National Ecosystem Assessment has given us the evidence to inorm our decisions. It makes clear thatgovernment and society need to account better or the value o nature, particularly the services andresources it provides.

This White Paper the rst on the natural environment or over 20 years places the value o nature at thecentre o the choices our nation must make: to enhance our environment, economic growth and personalwellbeing. By properly valuing nature today, we can saeguard the natural areas that we all cherish and romwhich we derive vital services. Everyone can think o places near where they live that languish, neglected anddamaged. In many cases, with well-inormed intervention, we can make progress towards restoring naturessystems and capacities. We can put right damage done in previous years. This White Paper makes important

new proposals or doing just that.

Whether we live in the city or the countryside, natural systems suppor t us. The natural environment becomesdegraded when people lose their sense o contact with it. Human health and happiness also suer. This WhitePaper aims to strengthen connections between people and nature, to the benet o both.

As the Government sets about repairing the damage to the economy, we are launching this White Paper tomend the inherited damage in our natural environment. Thousands responded to our recent consultation andtold us that they want to saeguard the inheritance o uture generations. Valuing nature properly holds the keyto a green and growing economy, one which invests in nature not just or us but or our childrens children.

The Rt Hon. Caroline Spelman MP


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Executive Summary 3

1. Nature is sometimes taken or granted andundervalued. But people cannot fourish withoutthe benets and services our natural environmentprovides. Nature is a complex, interconnected system.A healthy, properly unctioning natural environmentis the oundation o sustained economic growth,prospering communities and personal wellbeing.

2. This is why we must properly value the economicand social benets o a healthy natural environmentwhile continuing to recognise natures intrinsicvalue. The Government wants this to be the rstgeneration to leave the natural environment oEngland in a better state than it inherited. To achieveso much means taking action across sectors ratherthan treating environmental concerns in isolation.It requires us all to put the value o nature at theheart o our decision-making in Government, localcommunities and businesses. In this way we willimprove the quality and increase the value o thenatural environment across England.

3.We will mainstream the value o nature across our

society by: acilitating greater local action to protect and

improve nature;

creating a green economy, in which economicgrowth and the health o our natural resourcessustain each other, and markets, business andGovernment better refect the value o nature;

strengthening the connections between people andnature to the benet o both; and

showing leadership in the European Union and

internationally, to protect and enhance naturalassets globally.

Protecting and improvingour natural environment4. The National Ecosystem Assessment shows thatover 30% o the services provided by our naturalenvironment are in decline. The Lawton Report ,Making Space or Nature, ound that nature in Englandis highly ragmented and unable to respond eectivelyto new pressures such as climate and demographicchange.

5. Past action has oten taken place on too small ascale. We want to promote an ambitious, integratedapproach, creating a resilient ecological networkacross England. We will move rom net biodiversityloss to net gain, by supporting healthy, well-unctioningecosystems and coherent ecological networks. Wewill publish a new Biodiversity Strategy or England,responding to our international commitments andsetting a new direction or policy over the nextdecade.

6.We will establish a clear institutional ramework toachieve the recovery o nature:

We will establish Local Nature Partnerships (LNPs)to strengthen local action. LNPs will enable localleadership and may operate across administrativeboundaries. They will raise awareness aboutthe services and benets o a healthy naturalenvironment. They will contribute to the greeneconomy and complement Local EnterprisePartnerships, with which we are encouraging themto orm strong links.

We will create new Nature Improvement Areas(NIAs) to enhance and reconnect nature on asignicant scale, where the opportunities andbenets justiy such action. Local partnershipswill come together to orm NIAs. We will set upa competition to identiy 12 initial areas and willprovide 7.5 million to support this.

Through reorms o the planning system, we willtake a strategic approach to planning or naturewithin and across local areas. This approach willguide development to the best locations, encourage

greener design and enable development to enhancenatural networks. We will retain the protection andimprovement o the natural environment as coreobjectives o the planning system. We will establisha new, voluntary approach to biodiversity osets

and test our approach in pilot areas.

7. More broadly we will achieve a better qualitynatural environment by taking and promotingconcerted action across our armed land, woodlandsand orests, towns and cities, and rivers and waterbodies. We will press ahead with our ambitious

commitments or the marine environment.

Executive summary: the natural choice


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The Natural Choice4

Growing a green economy8. Economic growth and the natural environment are

mutually compatible. Sustainable economic growthrelies on services provided by the natural environment,oten reerred to as ecosystem services. Some o theseare provided directly, such as ood, timber and energy.Others are indirect, such as climate regulation, waterpurication and the productivity o soil.

9. The Economics o Ecosystems and Biodiversity studyshows that protected natural areas can yield returnsmany times higher than the cost o their protection.There are multi-million pound opportunities availablerom greener goods and services, and rom markets that

protect natures services.

10. Too many o the benets we derive rom natureare not properly valued. The value o natural capitalis not ully captured in the prices customers pay, inthe operations o our markets or in the accounts ogovernment or business. When nature is undervalued,bad choices can be made.

11.We will put natural capital at the centre oeconomic thinking economic thinking and at the hearto the way the way we measure economic progress

nationally. We will include natural capital within theUK Environmental Accounts. We will establish anindependent Natural Capital Commit tee to advise theGovernment on the state o natural capital in England.

12. Government alone cannot create a greenereconomy. Markets that trade sustainably in naturalgoods and services are essential. More businesses shouldbenet rom new market opportunities, and rom usingnatural capital more sustainably in their own supplychains. Government and business have a shared interestin protecting natural capital and should work together.

Action we are taking includes the ollowing:

We will publish an action plan to expand marketsand schemes in which payments are made by thebeneciary o a natural service to the provider othat service.

We will set up a business-led Ecosystem MarketsTask Force to review the opportunities or UKbusiness rom expanding the trade in green goodsand the market or sustainable natural services.

We will publish a review o waste policy later

this year.

We will issue new guidance or businesses by2012 on how to measure and report corporateenvironmental impacts.

Reconnecting peopleand nature13. The NEA and the Marmot Review, Fair Society,Healthy Lives,demonstrate the positive impact thatnature has on mental and physical health. High-qualitynatural environments oster healthy neighbourhoods;green spaces encourage social activity and reduce crime.The natural environment can help childrens learning.

14. Human activity can, in return, enrich nature.Voluntary activity to improve wildlie habitats orremove litter increases the value o nature.Well-inormed choices made by people in

their everyday lives or example as shoppers ,householders and gardeners also have a positiveimpact. These connections are good or people andgood or nature.

15.We need to make enhancing nature a centralgoal osocial action across the country. We want tomake it easier or people to do the right thing, withaction in the health and education systems and in ourcommunities. Particular action includes the ollowing:

To help local authorities use their new duties

and powers on public health, Public HealthEngland will publish practical evidence aboutimproving health, including through access to agood natural environment.

We will remove barriers to learning outdoors andincrease schools abilities to teach outdoors whenthey wish to do so.

We will create a new Local Green Areasdesignation to allow local people to protect thegreen areas that are important to them.

We will establish a Green Inras tructurePartnership with civil society to support thedevelopment o green inrastructure in England.

We will launch a new phase o the Muck In4Liecampaign, oering volunteering opportunities toimprove the quality o lie in towns, cities and thecountryside.


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Executive Summary 5

International and EUleadership16.We will show environmental leadershipinternationally and within the EU, to protectand enhance natural assets globally, promotingenvironmentally and socially sustainable growth.We will advance internationally the approach andprinciples set out in this White Paper.

17.We will press or eective implementation othe 2010 Nagoya agreement by the parties to theConvention on Biological Diversity. At the UNConerence on Sustainable Development in 2012, we

will promote the green economy in the context osustainable development and poverty eradication.

18.We will improve the quality o the lives o someo the poorest people on the planet by providing 25million or biodiversity and ecosystem projects throughthe Darwin Initiative. Through the International ClimateFund, we will support action to prevent dangerousclimate change in developing countries and help thoseaected by the change that is happening. The 2.9billion o nance we have announced or 201115 willinclude unding to reduce emissions rom deorestation

and achieve biodiversity benets.

19.We want the EU to become the worlds largestgreen economy and market or environmentallysustainable goods and services. We will work with ourpartners to put in place appropriate strategies andsectoral policies, to achieve low-carbon, resource-ecient growth. We are working to achieve:

greening o the Common Agricultural andCommon Fisheries Policies to improveenvironmental benets, while achieving our other

policy goals; implementation o an ambitious new EU

Biodiversity Strategy, to put into eect what wasagreed at Nagoya;

a powerul EU2020 Strategy that achieveslow-carbon, resource-ecient growth ; and

an eective EU Roadmap or a Resource-Ecient

Europe.

Monitoring and reporting20.We will develop a set o key indicators by spring

2012 to track progress on this White Paper. We willpublish periodically a single concise and integratedreport about the state o the English environment.


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1

The natural world, its biodiversity andits ecosystems are critically important toour well-being and economic prosperity,but are consistently undervalued inconventional economic analyses anddecision making

UK National Ecosystem Assessment

Introduction the case

or a better approach

RobertGoodison


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Chapter 1: Introduction the case or a bet ter approach 7

What we mean by naturalenvironment

In this White Paper, we have given naturalenvironment a broad meaning. It covers livingthings in all their diversity: wildlie, rivers andstreams, lakes and seas, urban green space andopen countryside, orests and armed land. Itincludes the undamentals o human survival:our ood, uel, air and water, together with thenatural systems that cycle our water, clean outpollutants, produce healthy soil, protect us romfoods and regulate our climate. And it embracesour landscapes and our natural heritage, the manytypes o contact we have with nature in both town

and country. In England our natural environmentis the result o thousands o years o interactionbetween people and nature. It continues to beshaped through the care and attention investedby the individuals and organisations who activelymanage it.

1.1 Most people rightly believe in the innate value onature and our strong moral responsibility to protect

it. But the value o nature to our economy and society,

and to our personal wellbeing, is also clearer than ever.

Science, economics and social research have brokennew ground, demonstrating that, year by year, the

erosion o our natural environment is losing us benetsand generating costs. This knowledge must be the spur

or a new policy direction, nationally and internationally.

Assessing our nationsecosystems: a newunderstanding1.2 The last White Paper on the natural environment,in 1990, established the oundation or environmental

policies on matters as diverse as pollution and waste,

planning and land use, wildlie and protected areas,and climate change. A lot has changed since then.

The country has made great progress on some

o the big environmental concerns o the time.

Improvements have been made to the quality o

our air and water, recycling rates, the state o our

seas, environmental stewardship o armland and the

condition o our very best wildlie sites.

1.3 But addressing just one issue at a time will onlyget us so ar, because it does not refect the way that

nature works as a system. Our natural environmenthas become increasingly ragmented and ragile.

We must rethink our relationship with nature and the

way we value the benets we get rom it.

1.4 The innovative UK National Ecosystem

Assessment (NEA) was published in June 2011.1 Weare the rst country to have undertaken a complete

assessment o the benets that nature provides, how

they have changed over the past, the prospects or

the uture and their value to our society. The results

o this research deserve to be widely known; they are

the reason or many o the actions proposed in this

White Paper.

1.5 The benets we get rom nature are oten

described as ecosystem services. Natural resources

(such as ood, timber and water) and unctioningnatural systems (such as healthy, ertile soils; clean

water and air; and a regulated climate) are vital

support services or our wellbeing and security, and

are themselves sustained by biodiversity. Taking

account o all the economic and non-economic

benets we get rom these services enables decision-

makers to exercise judgement about how we use

our environment. Such an approach is oten called an

ecosystems approach.

1.6 The NEA shows that ecosystems and the

ways people benet rom them have changedmarkedly in the past 60 years, driven by societal

changes such as population growth, increased living

standards, technological developments and globalised

consumption patterns. Our ecosystems are delivering

some services well, but others are in decline.

Through its analysis o their changing status, the NEA

has identied broad habitats and ecosystem services

where continuing pressures are causing deterioration

in the benets provided. O the range o services

provided by the eight broad aquatic and terrestrial

habitat types in the UK, over 30% have been assessedas declining, oten as a consequence o long-term

declines in habitat extent or condition.2

1.7 The NEA also underlines the importance omanaging ecosystems in a more integrated ashion, to

achieve a wider range o services and benets.

This means, or example, linking goals on wildlie,

water, soil and landscape, and working at a scale that

respects natural systems and the natural eatures

supporting such systems. Chapter 2 o this

White Paper sets out measures to protectand improve the health o ecosystems.

It promotes an integrated approachto managing the natural environment,particularly at the landscape scale.


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The Natural Choice8

Spot the ecosystem services

Ecosystem Services are theproducts o natural systems

rom which people derivebenets, including goods andservices, some o which canbe valued economically, andothers which have a non-economic value.

Provisioning services:We obtain products romecosystems, such as: ood(crops, meat and dairyproducts, sh and honey);water (rom rivers and alsogroundwater); bre (timberand wool); and uel (woodand biouels).

Regulating services:We benet rom ecosystemprocesses, such as: pollination(o wild plants and cultivatedcrops and fowers); waterpurication (in wetlands andsustainable urban drainageschemes); climate regulation(through local cooling andcarbon capture by trees);noise and air pollutionreduction (by urban andsurrounding vegetation); andfood hazard reduction(by foodplains and

sustainable urban drainage).Cultural services:

We gain non-materialbenets rom ecosystems,or example: throughspiritual or religiousenrichment, cultural heritage,recreation or aestheticexperience. Accessible greenspaces provide recreation,and enhance health andsocial cohesion.

Supporting services:These are ecosystemunctions that are necessary

or the production o allother ecosystem services,or example: soil ormation(or example, in woodlandsor in well managedallotments) and nutrientcycling (or example, soilsbreaking down animalwaste).

All o these roles areunderpinned by biodiversity;the level and stabili ty oecosystem services generallyimprove with increasing levelso biodiversity.


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Making Space or Nature:protecting and enhancing

nature1.8 In 2010, the independent review o Englands wildliesites and ecological network, chaired by Proessor Sir

John Lawton, concluded unequivocally that Englands

collection o wildlie areas is ragmented and does

not represent a coherent and resilient ecological

network capable o responding to the challenges

o climate change and other pressures. The review

called or a step-change in nature conservation [...] a

new, restorative approach which rebuilds nature and

creates a more resilient natural environment or thebenet o wildlie and ourselves.3 The review made 24

recommendations, but summarised what needed to be

done in just our words: more, bigger, better and joined.

Chapter 2 sets out a summary o the actionthat the Government proposes in response toMaking Space or Nature;a response to each o the

recommendations is set out at: www.dera.gov.uk

Making Space or Nature more, bigger,better and joined

TheMaking Space or Nature review o terrestrialwildlie sites argued that we must:

improve the quality o current wildlie sites bybetter habitat management;

increase the size o existing wildlie sites;

enhance connections between sites, either throughphysical corridors or through stepping stones;

create new sites; and

reduce the pressure on wildlie by improving the

wider environment.

1.9 The ragmentation o natural environments isdriving continuing threats to biodiversity. The previous

global target to reduce signicantly the rate o loss o

biodiversity by 2010 was not met. In England, species

and habitats are still declining. In 2008, or example, 18

out o 42 priority habitats and 120 out o 390 priority

species were in decline. Biodiversity sustains our natural

environment and the many services it provides: bees

and other insects pollinate our crops; bogs and orests

reduce damaging climate change by locking up carbon;and sh and other animals and plants provide our ood.

Human health and wellbeing depend on biodiversity; its

conservation and enhancement are critical or society

and the natural environment alike.

The role o biodiversity: pollination

Some 84% o European crops and 80% o

wildfowers rely on insect pollination. The value

o pollination to UK agriculture is 440 million

per year (13% o the total value o agriculture).

Over the last 20 years, the area o crops

dependent on insect pollination has increased by

38% . During the same period, there has been

a 54% decline in honey bee colony numbers in

England. More than 50% o our landscapes now

have ewer species o bees and hoverfies than in

1980. These changes have been driven by habitatloss and arming practices.

It makes much greater economic sense to

protect and conserve pollinators than to adopt

alternatives, such as hand pollination. The cost o

replacing bee pollination with hand pollination is

greater than the total market value o the crops,

at over 1.5 billion per year.

Bees can fy a kilometre or more, oraging or

nectar rom wildfowers. Creating a patchwork

o fower-rich meadows, eld edges and fowery

road verges, and extending this into urban

gardens, parks and open spaces, would assist

bumblebees and other pollinating insects. It

could reverse the alarming decline in pollinating

insects such as bumblebees across England.

The measures set out in this White Paper, along

with our Bee Health Strategy,4 will support this.

1.10 Society expects the environment to providemultiple benets. A growing global population, or

example, increases pressure on ood production.But ood increases must be achieved sustainably

in order to protect the ecosystem services (such

as pollination and the water cycle) on which ood

production relies. An increase in the production o

NTPL/RossHoddinott


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The Natural Choice10

energy crops is also necessary to address dangerousclimate change; more woodland cover is required or

carbon storage and climate regulation.

1.11 AsMaking Space or Nature suggests, the qualityo natural habitats must be improved throughoutthe countryside, while strategic action must be

taken to plug gaps in our ecological network. Special

protection o sites that are especially rich in wildlieor particularly ragile must continue. These ambitions

impose an overlapping set o demands.

1.12 Ecological ragmentation, reductions inbiodiversity and competing demands do not just

happen on land. Our seas are also threatened by

damage to biodiversity and pollution; sh stocks areunder serious pressure. Chapter 2 summarisesthe action we propose in order to protectbiodiversity, secure multi-unctional use othe environment and saeguard importantterrestrial and marine habitats.

Climate change anddemographic change1.13 Climate change is one o the biggest

environmental threats acing the world today, andperhaps the greatest economic challenge. Biodiversitywill be aected, with species moving or even lost

in response to changes in air and sea temperatureand water availability. The composition o habitats

will change; woodlands will be vulnerable to more

requent storm events. Climate change will increasethe severity o fooding and drought in dierent par ts

o the countr y.

1.14 Tackling climate change is essential ormaintaining a healthy, resilient natural environment.

We are working internationally to agree emissioncuts in line with keeping global average temperature

rise to two degrees Celsius, so as to avoid the mostdangerous eects o climate change. The Climate

Change Act 2008 made the UK the rst country in

the world to set a long-term legally binding rameworkto cut our emissions by at least 80% by 2050 and by

at least 34% by 2020 against 1990 levels. In order to

achieve that, the UK needs clean, sae and aordableenergy, to heat and power energy-ecient homes and

businesses. Our society will have to source, manage

and use energy in very dierent ways.

1.15 A healthy natural environment can oer naturalservices to help society cope with the impacts o

unavoidable climate change. For example, tree-

planting can naturally cool the temperature in our

towns and cities ; in some areas, it can be used to

manage increased food risk, or to retain and recycle

water naturally when we most need it. But livingwith the impacts o climate change will also mean

some tough choices about how to protect and

enhance nature at the same time as tackling other

pressures caused by climate change on our water,

ood production and the erosion o our soil and land.

Our society needs to develop a better understanding

about when and where to invest in environmental

protection in the ace o climate change impacts.

Helping the natural environment to adapt

to climate change is a theme that runs

throughout this White Paper.

1.16 Demographic change will also have important

environmental impacts. The recent report o the

Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution,

Demographic Change and the Environment, argued

that the main environmental challenge is not the total

size o the population, but how and where people

choose to live. Demographic change is also a actor

in water stress and in competition or dierent types

o land use (e.g. or energy, ood or development). 5

The Foresight Report , The Future o Food and Farming:

Challenges and choices or global sustainability,6

concludes that substantial changes will be required

throughout and beyond the ood system to provide

ood security or a predicted 9 billion people.

Chapter 2 o this White Paper sets out action

on ood and arming, and on competing

pressures on land use.

Growing a green economy

1.17 The Governments priority is to restoresustainable economic prosperity or all. We have

taken responsible action to reduce the nancial decit

and to promote sustainable growth. In doing so, we

reject the outdated idea that environmental action

is a barrier to growth or that achieving economic

development and a healthy natural environment are

incompatible objectives. On the contrary, strong

emerging evidence shows that a healthy environment

is essential to long-term growth; the economic

benets o protecting biodiversity and ecosystems

greatly outweigh the costs o doing so. For example,the recent Economics o Ecosystems and Biodiversity

(TEEB) study showed that protected natural areas can

deliver economic returns that are 100 times greater

than the cost o their protection and maintenance.7


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1.18 TEEB also highlighted the multi-million pound

economic opportunities available rom greener goods,

services and markets which protect natures services.8

Studies such as TEEB and the NEA show how thenancial benets we get rom nature sometimes

described as natural capital (see box below) are

oten underestimated or overlooked.

Natural capital can be dened as the stock o ourphysical natural assets (such as soil, orests, waterand biodiversity) which provide fows o servicesthat benet people (such as pollinating crops, naturalhazard protection, climate regulation or the mentalhealth benets o a walk in the park). Natural capitalis valuable to our economy. Some marketable

products such as timber have a nancial value thathas been known or centuries. In other cases(e.g. the role o bees in pollinating crops), we are onlyjust beginning to understand their nancial value.

1.19 At present, some o the ecosystem services we

derive rom our natural environment have a nancial

value in the marketplace, while others equally

vital to our continued wellbeing do not. Society

has traditionally placed a much higher economic

value on commodities such as ood, uel or minerals

than on other services that are equally essential or

economic stability and human wellbeing, such as

climate regulation, food control, water purication

and space or relaxation and recreation. This can

create an imbalance in the way that decisions are

made about how to use the natural environment. It

has led historically to a ocus on short-term gain and

consequent over-exploitation o many natural stocks.

The degradation o our natural systems entails not only

the loss o precious habitats, wildlie, sh populations,

landscapes, clean air and water but also the loss o

economic value that we could have gained rom more

sustainable use o the natural environment. Short-term

valuation and, in some cases, the absence o pricing are

symptoms o market ailure.

1.20 The TEEB study adds to a growing and infuential

body o international evidence on the need to betteraccount or the value o natural capital. It estimated

that i no action is taken to arrest current rates o

degradation, the value globally o lost ecosystem

services would amount to between $2 trillion and

$4.5 trillion per year rom deorestation alone9.

According to its estimates, the loss o land-based

ecosystems has already cost around 500 billion over

the last ten years. Maintaining natures capacity to

provide the unctions upon which we rely is oten

cheaper than having to replace them by investing in

heavy inrastructure or technical solutions.

1.21 The NEA also shows how much we rely on

ecosystems abroad to supply goods and services to

our economy. Our ootprint abroad is large: 80%

o our timber and 30% o our ood are imported

rom overseas. Some 66% o our total water use is

imported in the orm o all the water used to make

the goods we buy. Chapter 3 identies action to

support businesses along the supply chain to

understand and manage their global and local

environmental impacts. Chapter 5 sets outactivity at international level.

1.22 UK businesses also lose out rom degradation o

natural capital. Problems with the security o supply

with real shortages in resources and disruption to

their availability may become apparent. Price spikes,

increased insurance premiums and reputational issues

over environmental damage may arise. There is oten

a lack o inormation about impacts on natural capital,

such that businesses and consumers are unable

to make inormed choices. The impacts o supply

chains on ar-o natural resources are oten hidden

or ignored. While many businesses understand that

Market ailure

The values o most ecosystem services are currently omitted rom national economic rameworks and localdecision making. [This] results in less ecient resource allocation. (NEA)

In the last three decades o the 20th century, high land values and demand or housing to meet the needs oa growing population contributed to declines in the quality and quantity o urban green spaces. For example,communities lost in the region o 10,000 playing elds between 1979 and 1997. Looking orward to 2060, the

NEA shows that there is potential to increase the amenity value o urban green space in the UK by some 2billion4 billion every year. However, this value is not eectively refected within the market or land.

In addition, communities are becoming increasingly aware o the additional value o green space in managingrisks such as the urban heat island eect, particulate pollution and surace water fooding.


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respecting natural capital makes good business sense,

many others have yet to ollow their lead.

1.23 One o the main causes or this has been that

the ull costs and benets o natural capital have beenlet o the balance sheet. I businesses do not account

or the value o nature, they may only recognise that

they are using natural resources beyond their capacity

or renewal when they become scarce.

The resulting over-consumption and depletion o

natural capital are a orm o market ailure. Better

accounting by business and by government would

enable better choices, so that society can use natural

capital sustainably.

1.24 Sustainable use o natural capital must be apriority. But we can also derive signicant economicbenets or businesses and the UK economy

rom actively improving or enhancing capital.

This is particularly true in cases where valuable

natural unctions have already been degraded or lost,

or where natural capital can provide services more

cost-eectively than man-made alternatives that need

heavy inrastructure. For example, the NEA highlights

the value o coastal wetlands at 1.5 billion annually

in terms o the role they play in buering the eects

o storms and in controlling fooding. Investing in thecreation o new coastal wetland, such as through

managed realignment schemes, can be a cost-eective

alternative to hard engineering food deences, as

well as providing wider ecosystem services.

1.25 The past and present losses to our economyrom environmental degradation are wasteul. Society

needs to do more to refect the economic value o

the natural environment in the decisions that each

o us businesses, government and individuals

make. The use o markets and economic incentives is

likely to have an increasingly important role to play.Chapter 3 sets out a series o measures toaccount or the value o nature, in order tomake more balanced decisions about howour society and economy use the natural

environment.

Wellbeing in a healthierenvironment

1.26 Human wellbeing is intimately connectedwith our natural environment. Evidence rom the

NEA supports what many eel instinctively: regular

opportunities to experience nature have positive

impacts on mental and physical health, learning and

relationships between neighbours. Nature can benet

us at all stages in our lives:

1.27 Contact with nature can help us to get a betterstart in lie and to get on in lie. There is a wide

range o evidence showing that contact with nature

enhances childrens education, personal and social skills,

health and wellbeing, leading to the development o

responsible citizens. However, research also shows that

the connections between young people and nature are

weaker now than in the past. Children are becoming

disconnected rom the natural environment. Theyare spending less and less time outdoors. In act, the

likelihood o children visiting any green space at all has

halved in a generation. Young people themselves say

that outdoor space is one o the things that they need

to eel good and do well.11

1.28 There is increasing interest in the impact ooutdoor environments on health and wellbeing.

Several reviews, including Sir Michael Marmots

independent review o health inequalities, Fair Society,

Healthy Lives,12 point to the potential o natural

environments to improve mental and physical health.

A study in the Lancetshowed that proximity to

green spaces was associated with reduced health

inequalities.13 A large-scale study in the Netherlands

also ound that living close to areas with more green

spaces was associated with ewer mental health

problems; the relation was stronger or people with a

lower socioeconomic status.14

1.29 Access to nearby attractive public green spaceand ootpaths is likely to increase levels o walking,

one o the simplest orms o physical activity that mostcan enjoy.15 Studies show that patients recovering

rom operations are likely to stay in hospital or less

time and need less powerul painkillers i they look

out onto a natural scene rom their hospital bed.16

Ecosystems can aect both physicaland mental health o all social

groups, and peoples quality olie in general; this evidence otenrelates to non-specic access to

the wider landscape and seascapes,or specic use o urban greenspace, particularly or leisure inpublic parks and private gardens.10


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1.30 Healthy natural environments can also be usedas a cost-eective way o regenerating and enhancingour neighbourhoods in both rural and urban areas.The presence o vegetation can halve the incidenceo violent and property crimes in otherwise identicalsocial housing. Crime is lower in inner-city areas withmore areas o natural vegetation.17 Green spacesencourage greater social activity and more visitorsthan barren areas. Residents get to know theirneighbours and become more concerned with helpingand supporting each other.

1.31 Not everyone has an equal opportunity toaccess the benets o a healthy natural environment.While some aspects o environmental quality haveimproved, it can vary between dierent areas andcommunities. People in disadvantaged areas acrossEngland experience greater exposure to air pollution,sea fooding, close proximity to large industrialand waste management sites and poor river waterquality. Statistics on environmental quality published

in 2010 show that the more deprived an area is,the more exposed its residents are to unavourableenvironmental conditions.18 Around 0.2% o peopleliving in the least deprived areas may experience ouror more environmental conditions that are least

avourable. This rises to around 17% or those peopleliving in the most deprived areas in England.

1.32 These examples o social research place a newresponsibility on policy-makers and serviceproviders to redesign policies and services or thenatural environment to improve wellbeing.

Chapter 4 proposes measures in ourhealth and education systems, and in ourcommunities.

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Least

deprived

areas

Level of deprivation Most

deprived

areas

Percentage

ofthe

populatio

n

1 condition

2 conditions

3 conditions

4 or more conditions

Least favourable

conditions

England

Note: Level of deprivation is determined by the Index of Multiple of Deprivation. Eleven environmental conditions or

characteristics have been included: r iver water quality, air quality, green space, habitat favourable to biodiversity, flood

risk, lit ter, housing conditions, road accidents, and presence of regulated sites (e.g. waste management, industrial, or

landfill sites, or sewage treatment works). For each of these conditions the population living in areas with, in relative

terms, the 10 per cent least favourable condit ions have been determined. Data range mainly from 2005 to 2008

Source: Defra, Environment Agency, CLG


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2Protecting and improving

our natural environment

Ambition

We want to improve the quality o our naturalenvironment across England, moving to a net gainin the value o nature. We aim to arrest the declinein habitats and species and the degradation olandscapes. We will protect priority habitats andsaeguard vulnerable non-renewable resources oruture generations. We will support natural systems tounction more eectively in town, in the country andat sea. We will achieve this through joined-up actionat local and national levels to create an ecologicalnetwork which is resilient to changing pressures.

Crowncopyright(Defra)


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The key reorms or protecting and improving our natural environment are:

supporting Local Nature Partnerships,to strengthen local action(paragraphs 2.152.26);

new Nature Improvement Areas inresponse to the recommendations set out inMaking

Space or Nature, to enhance and reconnect nature on a signicant scale(paragraphs 2.272.32);

ecologically coherent planning, retaining the protection and improvement o the natural

environment as core objectives o the planning system (paragraphs 2.332.37); and

piloting biodiversity osets, to make requirements to reduce the impacts o development

on biodiversity simpler and more consistent (paragraphs 2.382.42).

2.1 The National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA)

shows that over 30% o the services we get romour ecosystems are declining. It was once possibleto assume that environmental damage was an

inevitable impact o social and economic progress.But ground-breaking studies such as the Economicso Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study and the

NEA have demonstrated that growth and prosperityare compatible with a thriving natural environment.

They highlight the social and economic costs oenvironmental degradation and the signicant scaleo the opportunities arising rom more eective

management o our ecosystems in uture.

2.2 Through its analysis o their changing status, theNEA has identied habitats and ecosystem serviceswhere continuing pressures are causing deteriorationin service provision, including marine sheries,

urban ecosystems, wild species diversity, pollination,enclosed armland and soil quality. The NEA shows

that such deterioration has been driven by long-termreductions in the extent and condition o the space

available or nature (see the box below).

2.3 This new knowledge demands a clear response.Past environmental action in England has oten takenplace on too small a scale to achieve overall success

and has overlooked crucial links, such as betweenwildlie sites and the wider countryside, or between

rural and urban areas. Policies and practices have toooten been conceived and implemented in isolationrom each other. Both the NEA andMaking Spaceor Nature19 identiy the need or a more coherentapproach, working at a larger scale to refect natural

boundaries, joining up across the landscape andencouraging collaboration between sectors.

2.4 In this chapter, we set out our vision or nature,the key measures that will strengthen the institutional

ramework to achieve this vision, and measures to

restore ecosystems across the country.

A vision or nature2.5 Together, our society must act on all the evidencewe now have. We must protect the essentials o lie:

our air, biodiversity, soils and water, so that they can

continue to provide us with the services on which we

rely. We must repair the damage done to our natural

environment by restoring natural connections that

have been broken. We must improve the quality and

diversity o environments in both town and country,

so that they are better able to respond to uture

pressures. We should set our sights on a vision that

inspires us to act now and in the longer term: by2060, our essential natural assets will be contributing

ully to robust and resilient ecosystems, providing a

wide range o goods and services so that increasing

numbers o people enjoy benets rom a healthier

natural environment.

2.6 The NEA has brought new insights; we arecommitted to growing this knowledge base.

The Government will support a urtherphase o ground-breaking research. It willinvestigate the mix o uture actions mostlikely to secure the most benets or natureand or people rom our ecosystems. It willalso develop practical tools to assist decision-makers in applying the lessons o the NEA.

2.7 In 2010, a historic agreement in Nagoya, Japan,set a new global vision and direction orbiodiversity policy, an acknowledgement thateorts to protect and enhance biodiversity must

increase signicantly everywhere. As part o that

agreement, which is explained more ully in chapter

5, countries must revise their own national strategiesand plans or biodiversity to take account o the

new global ramework.We will publish a newBiodiversity Strategy or England to ollowthis White Paper. It will respond to our


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Urban MarineCoastalMargins

Freshwater Openwaters,

Wetlands& FloodplainsEnclosedFarmland Woodlands

Mountains,

Moorlands& Heaths

Semi-naturalGrasslands

ServiceGroup

Final EcosystemService

Provisioning

Crops

Livestock/Aquaculture

Fish

Trees, standingvegetation, peat

Water supply

Wild species diversity

Cultural Environmental settings:

Local places

Environmental settings:Landscapes/seascapes

Pollination

Noise

Climate

Hazard

Disease and pests

Water quality

Soil quality

Air quality

Regulating

Detoxification

&purification

Importance of Broad Habitat fordelivering the ecosystem service

Direction of change inthe flow of the ser vice

Medium Low

Medium High

High

Low

Improving

Some improvement

No net change

Improvement and/ordeterioration in different locations

Some deterioration

Deterioration

Unknown

Relative importance of UK NEA Broad Habitats in delivering

ecosystem services and overall direction of change in service

flow since 1990. This figure is based on information synthesized

from the habitat and ecosystem service chapters of the UK

NEA Technical Report (Chapters 516), as well as expert

opinion. This figure represents a UK-wide overview and will

vary nationally, regionally and locally. It will therefore also

inevitably include a level of uncertainty; full details can be found

in the Technical Report. Arrows in circles represent where

there is high evidence for or confidence in the direction of

service flow amongst experts; arrows in squares represent

where there is less evidence for or confidence in the direction

of service flow. Blank cells represent services that are not

applicable to a particular Broad Habitat.

NEA Ecosystems trends since 1990


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Chapter 2: Protecting and improving our natural environment 17

international commitments and set a newstrategic direction or biodiversity policy inEngland or the next decade.

Denition o biodiversity

Biodiversity is lie. We are part o it and wedepend on it or our ood, livelihoods and wellbeing.It is the term used to describe the variety o all lieon Earth, rom the most common o species suchas otters, dolphins and bluebells to less well-knownand rare species. It includes all species o animals,plants, ungi and even micro-organisms, the placesthey need in which to live (habitats) and the naturalsystems that support them.

According to the Convention on BiologicalDiversity: Biological diversity means the variabilityamong living organisms rom all sources, includingterrestrial , marine and other aquatic ecosystemsand the ecological complexes o which they arepart ; this includes diversity within species, betweenspecies and o ecosystems.

2.8We will continue to look ater and improve ourspecial wildlie areas and take direct action to support

our most precious and endangered wildlie. But we

must go beyond that, working together to saeguardecosystem services and restore degraded ecosystems

through more cost-eective and integrated

approaches. We will move progressively rom net

biodiversity loss to net gain, by supporting healthy,

well-unctioning ecosystems and establishing more

coherent ecological networks. Our 2020 missionis to halt overall biodiversity loss, supporthealthy well-unctioning ecosystems andestablish coherent ecological networks, withmore and better places or nature or thebenet o wildlie and people.

2.9 By 2020 we want to achieve an overallimprovement in the status o our wildlie. Over time,

we plan to have 90% o priority wildlie habitats in

recovering or avourable condition.20 We will work

to achieve more, bigger, better and less-ragmented

areas or wildlie, including no net loss o priority

habitat and an increase o at least 200,000 hectares

in the overall extent o priority habitats. At least50% o Sites o Special Scientic Interest will be in

avourable condition, while maintaining at least 95%

in avourable or recovering condition. And, in linewith commitments made at Nagoya, at least 17%

o England will be managed eectively in order to

saeguard biodiversity and ecosystem services, and at

least 15% o degraded ecosystems that are important

or climate change mitigation and adaptation will

be restored. Government will play a leading role in

delivering these outcomes and will take them orward

in a way which is compatible with our other priorities.We do not intend to introduce unnecessary burdens

or regulations, rather our aim is or these outcomes to

be used as a driver or action by partners under the

new Biodiversity Strategy. We want to inspire action

at all levels by all partners. Government cannot deliver

these outcomes alone and a signicant contribution

will be required rom the wider biodiversity

par tnership and society in general.

2.10 Public bodies have a statutory duty to take

account o conservation o biodiversity. We will

provide new tools and guidance or key groups o

public bodies, including local authorities, to support

local action or nature. We will also raise the prole

o this duty among parish councils, to address low

awareness o the duty within this group.

Natural networks

The natural environment is sometimes seen asa series o disconnected places: gardens, parks,armland, orests, coastland, wetlands, rivers andseas. We should be thinking not o isolated spots ogreen on a map o England but o a thriving greennetwork linking wildlie sites with armland, orestryand urban parks and gardens across the country.

Making Space or Nature highlighted action tosupport ecological networks as an eectiveresponse to conserve wildlie in environments thathave become ragmented by human activities. Itstated: An ecological network comprises a suiteo high quality sites which collectively containthe diversity and area o habitat that are neededto support species and which have ecological

connections between them21

The elements o lie biodiversity, healthy soils,clean air and water, and diverse landscapes needto be managed in ways which recognise the vitalconnections between them. Connections canbe made over land; through water or by air; orthrough continuous green corridors or steppingstones, to create a dynamic and resilient landscape.

2.11Making Space or Nature emphasised the need to

restore natural networks across the country, workingat a range o geographical scales rom local networks o

small urban parks and green spaces, to major schemes

operating over thousands o hectares. There is a

growing consensus among conservationists and land


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managers that integrated action at a landscape scale is

oten the best way to achieve multiple benets.

Working at a landscape scaleThere is no single accepted denition o landscapescale; rather, it is a term commonly used to reerto action that covers a large spatial scale, usuallyaddressing a range o ecosystem processes,conservation objectives and land uses.

The right scale might need to take account othe particular interest o those involved locally,aesthetic or cultural characteristics, natural eaturessuch as river catchment areas or particular habitats,or recognised areas such as the 159 National

Character Areas.Landscape scale conservation is characterised bythe pursuit o multiple benets across a denedarea (e.g. water quality, biodiversity and access).The best examples also make links to widereconomic and social priorities, where enhancingnature can provide benets to the local economyand quality o lie.

There are strong links between the landscapescale approach and an ecosystems approach,which encourages an integrated approach to land

management, considering the costs and benetso land use decisions, and pursuing those thatminimise risks and maximise opportunities orpeople, or nature and or the economy.

2.12Making Space or Nature set out a practical

vision or addressing the ragmentation o our natural

environment by restoring ecological networks

across the country. The approach is based on ve

components, to be implemented at a landscape scale

working with existing land uses and economic activities:

core areas o high nature conservation value

which contain rare or important habitats

or ecosystem services. They include protected

wildlie sites and other semi-natural areas o high

ecological quality;

corridors and stepping stones enabling

species to move between core areas. These can

be made up o a number o small sites acting as

stepping stones or a mosaic o habitats that allows

species to move and supports ecosystem unctions;

restoration areas, where strategies are put in

place to create high-value areas (the core areas o

the uture) so that ecological unctions and wildlie

can be restored;

buer zones that protect core areas, restorationareas and stepping stones rom adverse impacts inthe wider environment; and

sustainable use areas, ocused on thesustainable use o natural resources andappropriate economic activities. Together with themaintenance o ecosystem services, they sotenthe wider countryside, making it more permeableand less hostile to wildlie.

The components o ecological networks

Core area

Linear corridor

Stepping stonecorridor

Restoration area

Landscape corridor

Buffer zone

2.13 A huge amount o work is already under wayto restore nature at a landscape scale. The WildlieTrusts Living Landscapes, RSPBs Futurescapes,and the eight Integrated Biodiversity Delivery Areapilots are examples o this approach, as are manyindependent partnerships operating around thecountry. The England Biodiversity Group has drawntogether the lessons learned rom examples both inthis country and overseas in the ThinkBIGreport.22Published in tandem with this White Paper, ThinkBIGsuggests ways in which local authorities, communities,businesses, landowners, armers and government can

help ecological restoration at a landscape scale.

Supporting naturalnetworks: a newinstitutional ramework2.14We want to create a resilient and coherentecological network at national and local levels acrossEngland. Achieving this will require a undamental shitin approaches to conservation and land management.


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Case StudyManaging Land to Reduce Flood Risk

On the National Trusts Holnicote Estate onExmoor, an innovative project is taking place tomake the land better at storing water and reducethe risk o fooding in the villages o Allerordand Bossington. The project receives undingrom Deras Multi-Objective Flood ManagementDemonstration Scheme.

The aim is to change the way the land is managed toallow it to hold more water and change the way thatfood waters fow through the catchment. Activitiesinclude restoring wetlands and water meadows and

creating new woodland. These changes cost relativelylittle compared to building hard food deences toprotect the villages. As well as reducing food risks,the project aims to produce multiple environmentalbenets including improved habitats, better soilconservation and good carbon stewardship.

The project is led by the National Trust, withsupport rom the Environment Agency and otherlocal partners. The team are working with tenant

armers along the River Aller and Horner Watercatchments rom source to sea. The results willbe relevant to other catchments around thecountry. Project manager Nigel Hester says:

The project presents a great opportunity to help

people understand, appreciate and look ater our

natural resources. We are involving tenants, private

residents and other local stakeholders in our long term

commitment to this project.

To make this happen, the Government will put inplace a clear institutional ramework to support

nature restoration. This means:

establishing Local Nature Par tnerships to

strengthen action at the r ight scale and mirror

Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs);

creating new Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs);

and

strengthening support through the planning system,

including through biodiversity osets.

Local Nature Partnerships

2.15 In developing this White Paper, we have receivedone particularly clear message: eective action to benet

nature, people and the economy locally happens when

the right people come together in partnership.

2.16 Some highly eective local partnerships alreadyexist, dealing with matters such as landscape restoration,

catchment or coastal management, achievement

o Biodiversity Action Plans and provision o green

inrastructure. Many already make the important linksbetween action or nature and wider economic and

community priorities. We want to see widespread and

joined-up partnership action.We will encourageand support Local Nature Partnerships where

local areas wish to establish them. Thesepartnerships will work at a strategic scale to

improve the range o benets and services we

get rom a healthy natural environment. They

will aim to improve the multiple benets we

receive rom good management o the land.

2.17 Such partnerships may cross administrative

boundaries, so that they can refect natural eatures,

systems and landscapes, and work at a scale that has

most impact. Where necessary, they may join up on

cross-boundary issues, such as landscape scale action orbiodiversity, water management, green inrastructure,

air quality and ecosystem services more widely. At this

strategic level, we envisage that there could be in the

order o around 50 partnerships across the country.

These would complement the many successul district

and neighbourhood groups that are working to achieve

positive outcomes at a smaller geographic scale.

2.18 Eective partnerships engage and win the support

o local people and communities they serve. They may

comprise people rom local authorities, businesses,

statutory authorities, civil society organisations, land

managers and local environmental record centres, as

well as people rom communities themselves.

N

ationalTrust


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2.19 Local Nature Partnerships will demonstrate local

leadership, raising awareness about the vital services

and benets that a healthy natural environment brings

or people, communities and the local economy.Local Nature Partnerships will contribute to the

green economy. In chapter 3 we show the business

opportunities available rom improving nature and

the way our economy is built on the oundations

o the natural world. Local Enterprise Partnerships

(LEPs) and Local Nature Partnerships thereore

have complementary roles both o which will help

grow a green economy. We expect them to work

in a co-operative and constructive ashion to drive

orward green growth locally. Together they can

help create the conditions needed or thriving localenterprise, innovation and inward investment all o

which can benet rom and contribute to, a better

natural environment. We would encourage LEPs and

Local Nature Partnerships to work together to orge

strong links that capture the value o nature. LEPs and

Local Nature Partnerships may arrange reciprocal

representation, but local discretion would apply here.

2.20 Local Nature Partnerships will infuence local

decisions and promote an ecosystems approach at

a local level. They will develop a shared vision or

their area and a set o priorities that improve social

and economic benets. This might include measures

to establish and improve a local ecological network.

Crucially, partnerships can co-ordinate action across

individual organisations, aligning eorts and making the

best use o available resources to make a dierence

on the ground. Partnerships will add value to a local

areas development through contributing to local

authority plans that aect the environment, as well as

to local plans and local development r ameworks.

2.21 Partnerships that ull the broadvision set out above will be recognised by

government and its environmental bodies. We

will host an annual ministerial event at which

partnerships can come together to share

best practice, discuss implementation issues

and celebrate success. We will maintain a

partnership database on the internet.

2.22 Much o this work is already happening but the

Government wants to provide support to

both new and existing partnerships wishingto adopt this integrated, landscape scale

approach. We will provide a one-o und in

2011/12 worth 1 million to develop Local

Nature Partnerships.

2.23We want local authorities to work through

partnerships, linking national environmental priorities to

local circumstances. Following the Governments arms-

length bodies review, the Environment Agency, NaturalEngland and the Forestry Commission will deliver more

joined-up advice and engagement or local areas23.

Statutory advice to local authorities and developers will

be consistent. Where the environmental opportunities

and risks are greatest, they will oer local areas

streamlined support through the Single Voice initiative.

Where appropriate, they will work in partnership with

English Heritage, which also has statutory responsibilities

or landscape management. Together, they will provide

a unied and authoritative source o advice which

sets clear objectives and allows partnerships and localauthorities the reedom and fexibility to decide how to

achieve them.

2.24 In addition, we are supporting the Total

Environment initiative. Here, government and sel-

selected local authorities are working in partnership

to nd better ways o tackling environmental pr iorities

and removing barriers. Through this scheme, there is

an opportunity or local authorities to work with local

par tnerships as described above.

2.25 The Governments reorms contained in the

Localism Bill will urther support local authorities

and community groups to protect and improve the

natural environment. New measures will give local

areas greater reedom and renewed responsibilities.

Communities will have a greater say about their

priorities, including those or the environment.

Community consultation on nationally signicant

inrastructure projects will ensure that the positive

and negative impacts o larger developments

are considered. A duty to co-operate addressesenvironmental issues with an impact beyond individual

localities and communities.

2.26 The NEA ound that the economic and social

value o nature is neither understood nor taken into

account by decision-makers. Evidence shows that

passionate individuals with credibility in their own

elds o expertise can help inspire action in others.

We will inaugurate a network o 50 Natural

Value Ambassadors to engage key decision-

makers and opinion-ormers using the latestevidence and materials available. Local Nature

Partnerships will be invited to nominate candidates,

as will proessional bodies rom other sectors such as

business, health and education.


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Nature Improvement Areas

2.27Making Space or Nature ound that there are areaso the country where the opportunities and benets

or the whole ecological network justiy ocused eortson a grand scale. The report recommended that large

areas should be ormally recognised as EcologicalRestoration Zones. Refecting this recommendation,we will enable partnerships o local authorities,local communities and landowners, the privatesector and conservation organisations toestablish new Nature Improvement Areas(NIAs), based on a local assessment oopportunities or restoring and connectingnature on a signicant scale.We want to see NIAs

wherever the opportunities or benets are greatest,driven by the knowledge and vision o local par tners.

2.28 In order to provide inspiration locally and builda practical evidence base, we will und a competition

to illustrate what works. The Government willsupport the creation o Nature ImprovementAreas. Natural England will set up acompetition to identiy 12 initial areas.We will provide 7.5 million over the currentSpending Review period. The learning rom themwill help us to extend this approach.

2.29 Working within the ramework othe National Policy Statements and theGovernments planning reorms (see below),local authorities will be able to use localplanning to support Nature ImprovementAreas, including identiying them in theirlocal plans where they choose, while notdeterring sustainable development.When planning or development in their areas , they

can speciy the types o development that may or may

not be appropriate in component parts o the NIA(such as existing designated areas), design aspects and

how development can contribute to NIA objectives.The planning reorms will help local authorities to plan

strategically across boundaries to support ecological

networks.

2.30 We will capture the learning romNature Improvement Areas, and reviewwhether urther action is needed in planningpolicy, regulation or capacity building, tosupport their development.

2.31 To enable inormed decisions about NIAs andthe repair o wider ecological networks, armers, land

managers, local authorities, civil society and others

need to have easy access to inormation and advice

about the natural environment where they live andwork. The Governments environmental bodiesare reorming the way they work together,to provide more coherent advice to localpartners. This means sharing inormationto help practitioners prioritise action basedon environmental risks and opportunities. Insupport o this, Natural England is producing maps thatshow how landscape character areas, water catchmentsand local authority boundaries relate to each other.

2.32 Landscape scale action requires partners topool resources and get the best possible value romthem. Partnerships oten draw together unding rom

National Lottery distributors, and rom environmental

charities, business, local authorities and communities.Government can provide support where joint priorities

have been agreed which meet national and local needs.

We will maximise the contribution whichEnvironmental Stewardship and the WoodlandGrant Scheme make towards our over archingobjective to promote multiple benets romecological restoration at a landscape scale,including through Nature Improvement Areas.

Protecting natural value through theplanning system

2.33 The Government expects the planning system todeliver the homes, business, inrastructure and thriving

local places that the country needs, while protectingand enhancing the natural and historic environment.

Planning has a key role in securing a sustainable uture.

2.34 However, the current system is costly andbureaucratic with excessive central control, preventing

local communities rom shaping development in theirneighbourhoods. It is also ailing to achieve the kind

o integrated and inormed decision-making that isneeded to support sustainable land use. We mustenable communities to achieve lasting growth in a way

that meets all o their needs: economic, social

and environmental.

2.35We need a more strategic and integratedapproach to planning or nature within and across localareas, one that guides development to the best locations,

encourages greener design and enables development toenhance natural networks or the benet o people and

the environment as part o sustainable development.

We will retain protection and improvement o thenatural environment as core objectives or local planning

and development management. The planning systemwill continue to acilitate coherent and resilient ecological

networks in association with local partners and refect


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the value o natural systems. We want the planningsystem to contribute to our objective o no net loss obiodiversity; to encourage local authorities to promotemulti-unctional development so that we get the mostrom land; and to protect our best and most versatile

agricultural land.

2.36 To achieve this, we need more fexible andinnovative approaches, including NIAs (set out above)and biodiversity osetting (see below).

2.37 Central to the Governments planning reorms isthe National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), whichwill set out our environmental, social and economicobjectives or the planning system and explain how theyrelate to each other, in one succinct document. We havealready made clear that our top priority or the NPPFwill be to support long-term sustainable economicgrowth, with a new presumption in avour o sustainabledevelopment. The NPPF will provide communities withthe tools they need to achieve an improved and healthynatural environment as part o sustainable growth, takingaccount o the objectives set out in this White Paper.The Government will consult extensively on adrat o the National Planning PolicyFramework later in the summer, and hasalready invited comments on its content and

received responses rom a wide range oenvironmental and other interested groups.

Osetting the impacts o developmenton biodiversity

2.38 The NEA identies land use change as one o themajor impacts on biodiversity in the UK. Developmentis needed so that communities can grow and expandin a way which suits them and to provide jobs andessential services, but it also has a contribution to make

to our overall objective o no net loss o biodiversity.

Denition o biodiversity osets

Biodiversity osets are conservation activitiesdesigned to deliver biodiversity benets incompensation or losses in a measurable way.

Good developments incorporate biodiversityconsiderations in their design but are still likelyto result in some biodiversity loss. One wayto compensate or this loss is by osetting: thedeveloper secures compensatory habitat expansionor restoration elsewhere.

2.39 A consistent ramework or biodiversity osettinghas the potential to improve the implementation o therequirements o the planning system or biodiversity.It could saeguard biodiversity more eectively, or

example, by encouraging the pooling o resourcesto achieve higher quality compensation. It couldalso make the process o managing the impacts odevelopment on biodiversity simple or all involved, byproviding a straightorward and cost-eective way toassess the impact o a development and to agree the

requirements or compensation.

2.40 Biodiversity osetting should be pursued inline with guiding principles, based on those set out inMaking Space or Nature. We are clear that osettingshould complement existing habitat designationsthat are designed to protect our most valuablebiodiversity: the current arrangements or managingprotected sites remain in place. Osets should help to

expand and restore the ecological network in England.Used in a strategic way they can help to deliver more,better, bigger and joined up networks o habitat.

2.41 Osetting should be managed locally; theapproach taken should be as simple and straightorwardas possible.We will establish a new voluntaryapproach to osetting and will test this in anumber o pilot areas.We want local authorities toexpress an interest in testing this innovative approach.Local authorities in pilot areas will oer developers theoption o delivering their biodiversity planning policy

requirements through osetting. We would also liketo hear rom developers, conservation and communitygroups and other interested parties who would like tobe involved in testing the approach24.

2.42We will work with local authorities and othersto nalise the details o the test phase, which will startin spring 2012. We will support them through a two-year pilot, until spring 2014. Natural England will workwith pilot areas, providing advice, support and qualityassurance. The aim is to develop a body o inormationand evidence, so that the Government can decide

whether to support greater use o biodiversity osettingin England and, i so, how to use it most eectively.

Planning or low-carbon inrastructure

2.43 The new planning system will improve thesustainability o new inrastructure and its capacityto withstand climate change. Through devolvedpowers, local authorities will be able to work withcommunities, developers and other stakeholdersto judge what ts best in their area, or examplerewarding people who generate their own energy.25


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Restoring the elements oour natural network2.44 Having set out our vision or nature and our key

reorms to the institutional ramework, we now turnto improvement o ecosystems across the country.

Nature and people thrive where biodiversity fourishes,

in living landscapes with healthy soils, water and air.

In the ollowing sections, we set out action to create

better quality environments through concerted action

across our armed land; woodlands and orests; towns

and cities; rivers and water bodies; and at sea.

Getting the best value romagricultural land

2.45 Over 70% o England is armed. Farmers and landmanagers play a vital role in achieving societys ambitions

or water, wildlie, healthy soil, ood production and the

management o landscapes. Food security is a long-term

challenge; arming needs to be supported in building

capacity or sustainable production both in the UK and

globally. However, the ood chain has major impacts on

climate change, biodiversity and the wider environment,

which require management.

2.46 The NEA shows that in the past, increases

in the productivity o armed land have resulted

in declines in other ecosystem services. One o

the major continuing challenges is to increase ood

production while improving environmental outcomes.

Economic and environmental perormance presents

a mixed picture across many arms, with the potential

or signicant gains i more land managers bring their

perormance to the level o the best. We will put

in place a clearer and more integrated ramework

to support armers to achieve multiple benetsrom their land. We need a fourishing natural

environment and a competitive, resilient arming and

ood industry to contribute to global ood security.

We acknowledge that potential tensions exist

A sustainable approach to low-carbon energy

The large-scale deployment o a diverse mix o low-carbon energy technologies is crucial or protecting theenvironment rom dangerous climate change. The Government is ully committed to achieving that in line withthe projections set out in the energy National Policy Statements and Renewable Energy Roadmap. As wellas cutting greenhouse gas emissions, many orms o low-carbon energy can bring additional benets or thenatural environment. Energy rom wind, waves, geothermal sources, tides and the sun generally produce veryew pollutants compared to ossil uels. The creation and sustainable management o woodland or energy canprovide valuable habitats and suitably located oshore wind arms can oer sanctuaries or some marine species.

Nevertheless, new energy inrastructure (including low and zero-carbon types) o the scale needed hasthe potential to cause adverse impacts on some aspects o the natural environment, even taking account oappropriate mitigation measures. The Government is committed, thereore, to delivering the level o low-carboninrastructure needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions, while managing the impacts on the environment. Newinrastructure must also be resilient to the impacts o climate change, as outlined in the Governments recentreport, Climate Resilient Inrastructure: Preparing or a changing climate.26 The National Policy Statements on energyinrastructure set out the approach or achieving those goals.

In addition, the Government will work with others to establish a research programme toll evidence gaps about impacts on the natural environment o the level o inrastructureneeded to meet 2050 objectives, in particular with respect to the cumulative and indirecteects. The research will be used in a strategic way to inorm pathways to 2050 and enable inormedjudgements to be made on the best ways to achieve greenhouse gas benets, energy security, aordabilityand protection o the natural environment.

The Government is also introducing sustainability standards or biomass used or heat and electricity toaccompany those that apply or transport biouels. Those standards include protection or designatedhabitats, highly biodiverse grassland and areas o high carbon stock, such as peatland. We will also introduce

emission limits or biomass heat installations to protect air quality. The Government is doing urther workto understand more ully the impacts and oppor tunities rom increased demand or bio-energy on theenvironment, ood supply and other sectors that use land and biological material. That evidence will inorm anew bio-energy strategy, setting out the role that sustainable bio-energy can play in cutting greenhouse gasemissions and meeting our energy needs.


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between improving the environment and increasing

ood production, and this requires all interested

parties to work together. We will bring together

government, industry and environmentalpartners to reconcile how we will achieve

our goals o improving the environment and

increasing ood production. We will publish

our conclusions within the next 12 months.

2.47 In May 2011, the Farming Regulation Task Force

published its repor t. This states clearly that maintaining

environmental standards is non-negotiable27 and

identies that regulation is essential to achieve this.

The Task Force made a number o recommendations

designed to shit the ocus o regulation away rom

process and towards results. We are considering theserecommendations and will publish an interim response

in autumn this year, with a nal response in early 2012.

2.48 Land managers are oten best-placed to

identiy their own local environmental priorities. The

Government is supporting the industry-led Campaign

or the Farmed Environment and the GreenhouseGas Action Plan. Should the goals o the campaign

not be achieved, or i progress on the action plan

is insucient, government intervention will be

considered instead.We will use the review in

2012 o both o these voluntary approaches,

as well as the evidence rom elsewhere such

as on pesticides or voluntary action under the

EU Water Framework Directive, to assess

more generally the eectiveness o this kind

o voluntary industry-wide approach.

2.49We want land managers to get returns roma range o ecosystem services in addition to those

they get rom ood production. We will work with

Townhill Farm is a 400ha arable arm in westDorset growing spring barley, and grazed by severalhundred sheep and 60 head o cattle. The armis also home to 40ha o deciduous woodland and

a scattering o Roman remains. For the past ouryears its owner, Hugo James, has had in place aHigher Level Stewardship (HLS) scheme, carryingout initiatives to support native plant and animal lieand protect the arms archaeological sites.The agreement with Natural England is worth42,500 a year to the arm, but Hugo says hisdecision to take part in the scheme was more thanjust an economic one : I elt it would be a good wayo securing a core income or the arm but also do

some good in the process. The older you get, the more

interesting this side o arming becomes.

One o the main objectives o the stewardshipagreement is to encourage wildlie, particularlybirds and bats. Hugo has signed up to a number oHLS options aimed at improving habitats or certainspecies, including the introduction o six-metre-wide margins around most o the arms arableelds. These are let

natural choice - the government's environment white paper (published july 2012)

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