Local Nature Recovery Strategies show how and where nature recovery can be best supported across the strategy's area. [1] They were established under the Environment Act 2021, [2] and involve mapping the habitats, agreeing priorities for their recovery, and mapping specific proposals for helping them recover. [2] [3] They focus on local needs and priorities, established through workshops, surveys and consultation. [4] [5] Their development involves working with partner organisations. For example in Cumbria these include Natural England, Lake District National Park Authority and Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. [6] [7] The work is done using guidance from DEFRA. [4] [8] In the scheme's early stages, it was criticised for lack of attention to quantitative auditing of progress, including any use of rich existing data on local species diversity. [9]
Examples include Cumbria, [6] Northumberland, [4] Lancashire, [2] and Durham. [1] Eventually there will be 48 of them, [8] with variations between them in the ways they are established and operated within the guidelines. [10]
The analysis focuses on two key legal and governance issues for collaboration for nature recovery in the English context: the integration of environmental concerns across law and policy, and the safeguarding of public participation.