Wednesday, 15 June 2016 Aim to address: How the projects funded - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Nature Improvement Areas: Joining up nature in practice – making ecological coherence a reality Brian McDonald, Natural England Wednesday, 15 June 2016

• How the projects funded under the NIA programme

were selected – i.e. what were the criteria for their positive assessment – policies, pressures, priorities,

• pportunities?
• Examples of the NIA’s and what they were seeking to

achieve; habitat, species, connectivity, ecosystem function, ecosystem services … what worked?

• The likely future of using these approaches – how are

these being sustained ?

• What do we as practitioners need to be thinking about

in applying these approaches – is anything different? Aim to address:

Nature Improvement Areas (NIA)

• NIA Competition announced in 2011 and component of Natural

Environment White Paper. Each NIA should be of between 10,000 and 50,000 ha to contribute to the ambition outlined in Making Space For Nature for Ecological Restoration. NIAs are a key component of the Biodiversity 2020 strategy.

• The 12 initial NIAs receive a share of £7.5 Million from NE & Defra

funding over 3 years (2012-15)

• NE, FC and EA have been instructed to positively engage with NIAs

to ensure their success – each organisation ... to maximise collaboration in these areas

• 12 initial NIAs cover Approx. 500,000 ha’s of land area - delivery

started 1 April 2012. All have multiple partners, working to integrate delivery at a landscape scale.

• Local Nature Partnerships can identify locally determined NIAs,

working to NIA criteria, to use M&E Framework ... but without, or limited, NE/Defra funding. Three year Monitoring and Evaluation Report published January 2016

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nature-improvement-areas-thousands-more-hectares-for-our-wildlife

Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs) Competitive Grant Scheme

Launch Competition July 2011

Stage 1 Applications submitted by 30 Sept 2011

By 31 Oct 2011 All decisions notified. Successful projects go onto 2nd Stage

4 November 2nd Stage applicants Workshop 16 Dec 2011 deadline for 2nd stage applications By 31 Jan 2012 Decisons notified to applicants Week commencing 6 Feb 2012 Stage 3 Presentations

By end of Feb 2012 final

decisions communicated to applicants 1 April 2012 NIA project Start

76 Applications in England – Nature Improvement Area, stage two reduced to Top twenty

Fifteen finalists – x factor final…. The Twelve Winners !

NIAs should contain all these components of an ecological network:

• Core areas, especially existing wildlife sites (National Nature Reserves, Sites
• f Special Scientific Interest, Local Nature Reserves, Local Wildlife Sites, and
• ther semi-natural areas of high ecological quality);
• Corridors and stepping stones;
• Restoration areas, where priority habitats are created to provide (in time)

more core areas;

• Buffer zones, that reduce pressures on core areas;
• Surrounding land that is sustainably managed, including for food production,

in a wildlife friendly way.

What are the characteristics of Nature Improvement Areas?

Although the characteristics of NIAs will vary across the country according to what is possible and what is needed, these will be places where:

• Opportunities to deliver ecological networks, both in terms of large area and scale and valuable benefits to wildlife

and people, are particularly high, taking account of relevant evidence.

• Significant improvements to the ecological network can be achieved over large areas by enlarging and enhancing

existing wildlife sites, improving ecological connectivity and/or creating new sites;

• The surrounding land use can be better integrated with valued landscapes and action to restore wildlife habitats and

underpinning natural processes, helping to adapt to climate change impacts;

• Benefits to urban areas and communities can be achieved and, where appropriate, NIAs may contain urban areas

as part of an enhanced ecological network;

• “Win-win‟ opportunities are identified and have the potential to be exploited to the full to derive multiple benefits, for

example with benefits for the water environment and Water Framework Directive objectives, flood and coastal erosion risk management and the low-carbon economy;

• There are opportunities to inspire people through an enhanced experience of the outside world.

Who Can Apply Partnerships/consortia that involve: Local government/planning authorities (including National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty), significant private landowners, environmental Non Government Organisations (NGOs) with land holdings (The Wildlife Trust (TWT), The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Woodland Trust etc.), other NGOs or environmental bodies, community and social enterprises, town and parish councils, private sector, with involvement from Environment Agency (EA), Forestry Commission (FC) and Natural England (NE). Who can’t Apply Individuals or lone organisations.

What we will look for in a bid? Land/area:

• comprise a large area, probably greater than 10,000 ha, unless the proposal fits to some smaller
• bvious ecological boundary. To reduce the risk of effort being spread too thinly, partnerships should

avoid proposing very large areas (e.g. in excess of 50,000 ha) unless they can convincingly demonstrate that significant enhancements are likely to be achieved throughout the NIA;

• include a variety of land uses, and may include urban areas;
• provide opportunities to enhance the functioning of ecological processes, facilitate adaptation to climate

change and provide wider ecosystem services; and

• link with any existing landscape-scale initiatives in the vicinity, and/or with other recognised areas for

enhancement (such as biodiversity opportunity areas).

Activities: NIA partnerships will be able to use their funding to support the following types of activities:

• projects that will make significant enhancements to existing wildlife sites or other network components, particularly those

identified as national or local biodiversity priorities (such as hedgerows and rivers);

• action to enhance the local ecological network, such as by enlarging existing sites, creating or restoring new wildlife habitat, and

establishing corridors, stepping stones or buffer zones;

• projects that have regard for the conservation of soils, geo-diversity and valued landscapes;
• actions that facilitate adaption to climate change;
• enhancements of a range of ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration and water management helping to meet

climate change and Water Framework Directive objectives;

• projects that involve innovation, such as incorporating payments for ecosystem services or piloting biodiversity offsets;
• where projects include significant urban areas, they will enhance green infrastructure (e.g. by retrofitting green roofs,

sustainable drainage, improved access to nature).

Level of delivery:

• We will take account of the extent to which the NIA proposal demonstrates quantifiable

benefits to the natural environment:

• improve existing wildlife sites, including SSSIs and Local Wildlife Sites (e.g. improving the

area in favourable or recovering condition);

• improve areas of non-designated wildlife habitat or bring these areas under conservation

management;

• the area of priority habitat2 expanded or restored both as new restoration areas (new

wildlife sites) and as extensions to existing wildlife sites;

• the area of habitat, or extent of other habitat features, created or restored which increases

ecological connectivity and reduces habitat vulnerability to future change;

• improvements through the conservation of soils, geo-diversity and valued landscapes;
• enhancements of a range of ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration and water

management helping to meet climate change and Water Framework Directive objectives Although aims for NIAs should be ambitious, they need to be realistic and based on a sound evidence base (Defra agencies will support the provision of this if required).

Locally determined NIAs

In addition to the 12 national NIAs, local nature partnerships and local planning authorities can identify and agree where locally determined NIAs can be set up. Locally determined NIAs are encouraged to apply the criteria, the monitoring and evaluation framework and lessons learnt from the 12 initial NIAs to assist their development and progress. For more information see the criteria for locally determined NIAs.

Overall aims of an NIA:

• Become much better places for wildlife – creating

more and better habitats over large areas which provide the space for wildlife to thrive and adapt to climate change

• Deliver for people as well as wildlife – enhancing

a wide range of benefits that nature provides such as recreation, flood protection, clean water, carbon storage

• Unite local communities, land managers and

business through a shared vision for better future for people and wildlife. The hope is they become places of inspiration loved by current and future generations.

• Creating more, bigger, better and less fragmented places for wildlife

Substantial contributions to Biodiversity 2020 outcomes were achieved. NIA partnerships maintained or improved 13,664ha of existing priority habitat and restored or created 4,625ha of new priority habitat. Restored, created or managed 225km of linear and boundary habitats. Activities to restore or create habitats have delivered multiple benefits, and enhancement of ecosystem services. Places of inspiration and innovation All the NIA partnerships are engaged in activities that are either contributing to research or are collaborating with universities or research institutes. Three NIAs worked with Sciencewise funding to provide enhanced public dialogue, involving local communities in discussions and decision making

Na Natur ture e Impr Improvement ement Ar Areas eas - ac achie hievements ements 2012 2012 - 2015 2015

Added Value

The NIA partnerships mobilised resources with an equivalent value of £26.2 million (including the financial value of volunteer time and services in-kind) in addition to the initial government grant funding. Of this total, £15.3 million was from non-public sources

Working with local communities, land managers and businesses

Volunteers contributed over 47,000 days of their time to activities across the NIAs Volunteering increased in each of the three years, with the amount of volunteering in the third year twice as much as in the first.

Na Natur ture e Impr Improvement ement Ar Areas eas - ac achie hievements ements 2012 2012 - 2015 2015

• The existing conifer plantation needed to be felled and any viable timber

removed off site, with the brash then suitably treated, to minimize the fire risk to the surrounding heathland.

• To facilitate this work, a lower section of the Green Drive had to be made

suitable for forestry machinery and a route constructed to access the woodland and remove timber to the main road south of the wood.

• Once the forestry work was done site restoration would need to be undertaken

to habitat types that are more consistent and sympathetic to the surrounding landscape designations, such as native woodland and heathland.

• Finally, the woodland needed to be re-shaped to be more naturalistic and to fit

in better with the landscape, with new native trees being planted within a fenced area, maximizing natural regeneration. Some retained areas of wind- firm conifer need to be kept and managed to screen the clear-fell area and act as sediment traps in the medium term with a view to their removal once broadleaved woodland was established (in 20-30 years).

CASE STUDY Burbage – Dark Peak NIA, Peak District National Park…….

‘The NIA brought people together under a mighty common cause and gave focus to some excellent conservation work delivered through partnership.’

Places of inspiration and innovation

All the NIA partnerships are engaged in activities that are either contributing to research or are innovative.

18

2012- 2015 – How did we do it?

Small National Team from NE (3.1 FTE) Managed the NIA Programme, working with Defra for programme delivery and M&E Local Area team adviser input to all 12 NIAs - Each NIA had a Natural England lead adviser working with each partnership Environment Agency and Forestry Commission input to national oversight group and individual NIAs Established a NIA Best Practise Group using Web tools, and face to face events to illustrate issues and successes; Developed integrated Monitoring & Evaluation

Na Natur ture e Impr Improvement ement Ar Areas eas - ac achie hievements ements 2012 2012 - 2015 2015

What have we learned from the NIA M&E?

What have we learned from the NIA M&E?

Retain integration

Biodiversity Ecosystem services Socio economic

Keep it simple

Meet the identified need Minimise number of metrics Analysis and interpretation

Single data entry

Reporting location Data source Remove duplication and

• verlaps

Standardisation

Consistent agreed terminology Reduce flexibility

Added Value

Whole > sum of parts Influencing/coordinating

Project derived data

Outputs/outcomes Remove bespoke surveillance requirement

spreadsheet submission

What might a voluntary reporting framework look like

Metrics Connectivity Ecosystem services Added value

Managing existing habitat Creating new habitat Action for species Volunteers £££

Outcome monitoring and context Combined

• utput

report HUB

• The Nature Improvement Areas Final Monitoring and Evaluation report was published January 2016

Key lessons from the evaluation of the NIAs include:

Na Natur ture e Impr Improvement ement Ar Areas eas - key less ey lessons

• ns 2012

2012 - 2015 2015

shared visions and objectives for the NIA partnerships improved communication between organisations, encouraged joined-up working and more integrated implementation; partnership-led, landscape scale land management contributed to successful implementation. However, sufficient resources need to be dedicated to local coordination and management if partnerships are to function well; the flexibility inherent in the design of the initiative was an important success factor; partnerships bringing conservation organisations together with local businesses, land managers, research institutions and local authorities proved effective in delivering land management in the integrated way envisaged by the NIA initiative; visible government support and leadership and a clear policy message provided impetus for local project delivery and helped local projects in sourcing additional resources; the scale of funding available to NIAs was critical to their success; the initial government grant, for example, enabled partnerships to employ staff, leverage match-funding and initiate demonstration projects that have encouraged others to get involved; and, longer term activity (beyond the three years of grant funding in NIAs) will be required to deliver sustainable impact, with associated monitoring to understand if lasting changes have been realised.

As well as NIA‘s and private initiatives making space for nature, there are others: RSPB’s Futurescapes, Wildlife Trust’s Living Landscapes, Butterfly Conservation’s Landscape-scale Conservation initiative. The National Trust’s efforts on their huge land-holdings All delivering “more, bigger, better and joined” over thousands of hectares At end of October, HLF announced a £36m investment for landscape level conservation in 13 areas across 3000km2 from Orkney to Cornwall, and they hope to do more. …hopes that their evolving Landscape Partnership programme will be able to support further work on NIAs in the future

.

• Secured £3-4m delivery commitments from

Network Rail and Highways Agency in 2 NIAs for 2015-2017

• Informed and influenced the Roads Investment

Strategy £300million environment fund with NIAs identified as target areas for biodiversity interventions

• Attracting wider interest from environmental and

transport sectors

‘This project will make these areas better than ever, helping our vital pollinators by providing a home and food for them to thrive, as well as improving the weather resilience of

• ur transport

infrastructure which will boost our economy’ SoS – Liz Truss Dec ‘14

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-countryside-stewardship-facilitation-fund/guide-to-countryside-stewardship-facilitation-fund

DEFRA 25 Year Environment Plan: Our vision

Britain to be the healthiest and the most beautiful place in the world to live, to work and to bring up a family. We want the generation growing up now to be more connected to nature than ours is.

Conservation Strategy

Na Natur ture e Impr Improvement ement Ar Areas eas - Wha hat t Ne Next? xt?

2015 - 2020

12 initial NIAs maintain direction and ambition to 2020 Locally Determined NIAs develop and grow Refresh/reprise NIA Criteria ? The National Planning Policy Framework states that Local Plans should, crucially, contain a clear strategy for enhancing the natural, built and historic environment, and supporting Nature Improvement Areas where they have been identified. Ecological Networks team in Natural England will develop and support integrated landscape scale delivery across NE, area teams and partner organisations. Use Countryside Stewardship and other resources to mobilise, enable and animate landscape scale integrated delivery. Use designation as a tool to contribute to the creation of ecological networks in well-managed landscapes. Develop NIA Best Practise Network and Mapping/GIS of NIAs Evolve and Develop integrated light touch M&E for landscape scale initiatives

Let’s stay in touch….

Brian.McDonald@naturalengland.org.uk