A Nature Recovery Declaration is essentially a formal acknowledgment of the nature crisis, and a commitment to take action to halt and reverse the decline of the natural world. It is an important first step towards putting biodiversity loss on the council’s radar and making it a key consideration within policy and decision-making.    

The actions of local authorities have a significant impact on the wild places and species within their boundaries. They decide what will be built and where, how they manage public green spaces and council-owned wildlife sites, and where they create more space for nature. They also have the power to influence and involve the wider community in nature recovery, as well as ensuring residents have access to nature-rich wild places.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is the latest authority to make a Nature Recovery Declaration, following on from the publication of their Plan for Nature last year. The Declaration strengthens and gives focus to the Plan for Nature, and includes a series of commitments to help further the council’s target of managing 30% of land for nature by 2030.

The actions it will take include reviewing management practices of its green spaces to boost biodiversity; using its own communications channels to encourage the wider public and business community to take action for nature; developing a locally-specific policy to ensure Biodiversity Net Gain is delivered in a way that leads to the best outcomes for nature, and providing training in nature recovery to both elected members and officers of the council.

The most important part of a Nature Recovery Declaration is the work that follows – the change in policies and practices and the instigation of new projects that lead to nature returning. In the Moorlands, this work has already begun.  

The authority is currently exploring managing more of its greenspaces for wildlife, to contribute to meeting its commitment of managing 30% of land for nature by 2030. The council have also started investigating other avenues to enable them to meet the target, including commissioning the Trust to identify suitable sites for receiving Biodiversity Net Gain.

It is great to see real ambition from this local authority to support nature’s recovery. After all, one of the primary roles of a local council is to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of its residents, and creating a healthy environment is fundamental to this.

We’re celebrating the Nature Recovery Declaration a few weeks after it was adopted due to restrictions on charity communications during the General Election period.