Help get involved in shaping Somerset’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy
Somerset Council has been appointed and funded by Defra to lead the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Somerset.
The LNRS is about creating a blueprint for the recovery of nature across the country.
Working with partners we are developing Somerset’s LNRS strategy, it will help focus the work for a full range of organisations and groups, involved and invested in nature recovery in the county.
To help shape the strategy, we also want to gain local knowledge from those who live and work here.
We have launched a public consultation which is open until 30 April.
People can take part by visiting www.somerset.gov.uk/lnrs or scanning the QR code on the poster below.
Have your say – your voice matters, whether you live in a rural or urban setting.
Your views will be a starting point in understanding the nature in our county and what is most important to you. Somerset’s nature and landscapes are something special and this is about enhancing and protecting it for the long-term. Nature is important on all kinds of levels, whether it is for food production, carbon storage, or the benefits it brings for physical and mental health.
The Somerset State of Nature Report demonstrates that we need to do much more to reverse the decline in nature and help Somerset’s wildlife to thrive.
Key findings include:
- Somerset has lost over 5% of its total grassland habitats
- Butterfly distribution has declined by over 330 square miles over 30 years
- Lapwing records have declined to worrying levels
- The number of ‘Good’ quality rivers in Somerset has decreased
- Non-native invasive species cover has increased by 260%
- Somerset’s 45-mile coastline, and the species that call it home, were found to be under threat
Other things we are doing as a council to support nature.
We are integrating the new government Biodiversity Net Gain rules that come into force this month into our planning process. This means planning applications for new developments must leave nature better off than before and create new habitats and green spaces, to compensate for any removed or affected as part of the build. This is a legal agreement to commit and monitor any habitat gains for over 30 years.
We launched the Somerset Tree Strategy funded by Defra. This is a ten-year plan to enhance and protect trees and woodland across the county and increase the county’s tree cover from its current 8% to at least the national average of 13%.
Find it here: Somerset Tree Strategy
Keep up to date with the LNRS:
· Follow us on social media.
· Visit our website. www.somerset.gov.uk/lnrs
· Sign up for our monthly climate e-newsletter SEEN. (Visit www.somerset.gov.uk and search climate newsletter.)