Guidance has recently been produced by Defra and Natural England on what the biodiversity duty is, the activities it applies to, and how public authorities can show they're complying with it.
Under the biodiversity duty, which is part of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act, public authorities must show regard for conserving biodiversity in all their actions.
A public authority can be:
- a local authority or a local planning authority
- a county council, a district council or a London borough council
- the common council of the City of London
- the council of the Isle of Scilly
- in Wales, a county council, a county borough or a community council
- a minister
- the Welsh national assembly
- anyone holding an office created by a public act of law, who is paid by Parliament
1. When wildlife or land may be affected
Public authorities should consider how wildlife or land may be affected in all the decisions that they make.
They should particularly consider this when:
- making planning decisions about development and land use
- developing new infrastructure such as roads, buildings or flood defences
- managing public space, nature reserves or civic buildings
- promoting the local area to visitors or investors
- deciding how to deal with waste and pollution
- making decisions about energy and water use
- sourcing wood or plant products
2. How public authorities can show regard for biodiversity
Public authorities can show commitment to the biodiversity duty in a number of ways.
The Biodiversity Strategy for England: Biodiversity 2020, lists a range of ways that biodiversity in England can be protected and enhanced.
2.1 Promoting biodiversity in planning and development
Public authorities should promote biodiversity when planning or developing, and when working with planners or developers.
Find planning guidance on biodiversity, ecosystems and green infrastructure.
2.2 Showing regard for biodiversity on public authority managed land and buildings
Public authorities manage thousands of hectares of land across England and Wales.
This land could include:
- nature reserves, parks and public open spaces
- woodlands
- buildings and gardens
- roads and verges
- council farms or other tenanted land
- cemeteries and crematoria
- school grounds
- sports pitches
- golf courses
- housing
- waste ground
- waterbodies
- beaches and coastline
Public authorities can support biodiversity when managing these sites and buildings by:
- creating, maintaining and improving habitats for wildlife, including roosting and nesting sites in buildings
- considering the impact caused by use of energy, water, and chemicals, or by air, noise and light pollution
2.3 Protected sites
Some areas of land are protected by international or national law or local plans.
Find out more about protected sites.
2.4 Green infrastructure
Green infrastructure includes:
- nature reserves
- local parks
- sports or school grounds
- allotments
- commons
- woodlands
- greenway linkages (stretches of greenspace in urban areas, eg canals, old railway lines, waterways, roadside verges)
- green spaces in and around towns
- the wider countryside
Public authorities can support biodiversity when managing green infrastructure by:
- leaving some unmanaged areas to provide food for birds and animals
- using sustainably sourced native tree and plant species in new planting
- avoiding the use of invasive non-native species in planting
- reducing the use of herbicides, pesticides and water
- avoiding the use of peat
3. Measuring commitment to the biodiversity duty
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has a set of biodiversity indicators to measure progress against the England biodiversity strategy.
Public authorities can use the indicator “local sites under positive management” to measure their commitment to the duty.