Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Local Nature Recovery Strategies in England are a new approach to restoring and protecting nature.

Over a three-year period from 2022, Suffolk and Norfolk County Councils conducted extensive research and consultation into the state of nature across the two counties, and what would be needed to reverse biodiversity decline and secure climate resilience. The goal of this research was to create a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for both Suffolk and Norfolk.

Wildlife organisations - including Suffolk Wildlife Trust - along with communities, landowners and businesses were all involved in the consultations to establish an LNRS that was meaningful and achievable, and that helps guide activities across the region to enable the critical efforts needed to expand, buffer and restore wildlife habitats and the natural environment.

The strategy also provides advice on the kinds of actions that can help nature in different locations; from landscape-scale habitat creation and ‘rewilding’ schemes, to creating and restoring ponds and hedgerows, greening our towns and villages, and making homes for wildlife in parks and gardens.

Our CEO, Christine Luxton, said:

“The publication of Suffolk’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy is an important step towards bringing back the wildlife and habitats we have lost from our county. We must use the strategy and seize this opportunity to make real progress on creating more, bigger, better, connected places for nature and people."
 

Download Suffolk's Local Nature Recovery Strategy document

View the Suffolk Local Habitat Map - Arc GIS

Find out more about the LNRS - Suffolk County Council

What does this mean for nature?

The strategy is a long and complex document, but it marks a really important turning point for how local government supports nature recovery.

There are 48 Local Nature Recovery Strategies being created across the UK. Together, they’ll combine to form a national plan to bring back nature - ensuring that nature has bigger, better, and more joined-up space for it to recover. Essentially, this means putting nature recovery into action at a landscape scale.

Suffolk’s LNRS includes opportunities and priorities for nature restoration. The next steps for local councils will be to support and create projects and initiatives that deliver the objectives of the strategy. This will be a long process; however, there are already some encouraging examples of how the LNRS has inspired new projects and informed better decision-making for nature.