Meeting the ambitions of our long-term Environmental Growth Strategy needs clear and well-evidenced priorities on how and where in Cornwall we should take action in the short-term.

We need a blueprint for a Cornwall Nature Recovery Network which identifies how we can protect, enhance, create and restore it. This will lay out how we can take steps to reach our goal that 30% of our land and seas are well-managed for nature by 2030.

It will help us to tackle the ecological emergency by ensuring that nature is bigger, better and more joined up - kickstarting the recovery of nature to support our wildlife, wellbeing and prosperity.

What is a ‘Nature Recovery Strategy’?

Local Nature Recovery Strategies are plans for growing nature in local areas. They consist of:

• a map of the most valuable areas for wildlife presently
• opportunities to improve nature in the future
• our local short-term priorities

They are blueprints for local Nature Recovery Networks, showing how and where we can support things like wildflowers, woodlands, wetlands and wider and wilder hedges.

The strategies are statutory requirements of the Environment Act. This means that local areas must develop them, with Cornwall Council designated the lead for Cornwall. We will then have to report on progress on the strategy every five years.

What was Cornwall's Nature Recovery Pilot?

Cornwall was one of only 5 areas to test the creation of a draft Local Nature Recovery Strategy. In late 2020 to early 2021 we worked with local stakeholders to create a first draft of local opportunities, priorities and a map of nature in Cornwall.

Coordination was led by Cornwall Council, and co-developed by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Nature Partnership and the Cornwall and Tamar Valley Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We engaged with a over 700 local stakeholders across Cornwall who generously gave their time and knowledge to help shape the draft.

What will the strategy be useful for?

It will be a blueprint for Cornwall's Nature Recovery Network that will help us prioritise where and how we should invest and target action in the short-term. In so doing, it will be a crucial delivery plan for the long-term ambitions of our Environmental Growth Strategy

It will do this buy helping to guide:

• Planning and development: It will guide how and where developers will deliver their new Biodiversity Net Gain duties - including the delivery of biodiversity offsetting and by identifying spatial allocations for nature. (See the Climate Change Development Planning Document and Local Plan.)
• Agri-environment funding: It will help shape how future funding for farmers and land managers will be used under the new Environmental Land Management Scheme.
• Nature-based solutions: It will strengthen local ambitions for nature-based solutions to climate change and flooding by identifying priority areas for trees, wetland and other key habitats.
• Investment: It will help to attract and guide future investment in Cornwall's Nature Recovery Network.

What happens next?

Cornwall's pilot completed at the end of May 2021, and we sent our initial draft to Defra. You can read Defra’s reflections on the pilots. Government is now drafting statutory guidance for the production of Local Nature Recovery Strategies, drawing on the lessons from the pilot.

You can read the pilot draft here:

• Draft Cornwall Local Nature Recovery Strategy | Plain text draft Local Nature Recovery Strategy
• Appendix 1: Cornwall State of Nature analysis
• Appendix 2: Methodology
• If you require this in an alternative format, please get in touch with us at grow-nature@cornwall.gov.uk.

But this is just a first draft. We will be undertaking a lot more engagement and consultation later this year so that many more people can have their say. We will also be evaluating the impacts it might have. The timing of this will depend upon the release of forthcoming guidance from government.

We are also now thinking about how we might better enable delivery of the strategy - including how we could create a pipeline of delivery projects, and how we could better unlock investment into nature recovery.

But action for nature doesn’t need to wait! You can get involved and take action for nature now by exploring the links on the hub homepage.