As part of the Natural England Nature Recovery Network project PAS have been developing a nature recovery “self-serve” toolkit to help local authorities take full advantage of the opportunities for turning its statutory ‘must do’s’ into opportunities for the whole council to deliver on its strategic and corporate ambitions on health, air quality, climate change, adaptation etc.
Introduction
The Environment Act is here - are you prepared?
Do you need help navigating through the government’s nature recovery requirements and the process for delivery?
Local authorities are responsible for delivering a number of new statutory nature recovery duties including Biodiversity Net Gain, Biodiversity Reporting and Local Nature Recovery Strategies and for these to be delivered successfully local authorities will need to be able to articulate their role in delivering wider corporate and strategic priorities.
As part of the Natural England Nature Recovery Network project PAS have been developing a nature recovery “self-serve” toolkit to help local authorities take full advantage of the opportunities for turning its statutory ‘must do’s’ into opportunities for the whole council to deliver on its strategic and corporate ambitions on health, air quality, climate change, adaptation etc.
The toolkit focusses on council priorities, the land that they hold, the services they deliver and explores how nature can act as a enabler for these and the quick wins that can be made. Our approach is rooted in establishing a strong governance process as a means of demonstrating to the wider council how a strategic approach to nature can help address wider corporate issues.
What is in the toolkit?
The toolkit includes a number of key components including:
- A workshop planning tool which sets out a suggested pattern of how a series of engagement workshops can be organised and delivered.
- Training modules (slidedecks or recordings) to introduce people who might not be familiar with this area and to lead them to think about why it matters and what they can do about it.
- A series of technical appendices including a useful “action” template setting out council activities, assets and responsibilities as well as useful data layers which can be used to inform conversations, identify opportunities and set priorities as part of workshop delivery.
Toolkit roadshow
PAS held three regional all day in person roadshow events in March 2024 for local authority officers to find out more about the draft nature recovery toolkit, the resources that have been produced so far and how to use them.