The West of England Nature Recovery Network (NRN) is being used across the region as a tool to focus efforts to restore nature. Recovering nature in the West of England requires action at all scales and there is a need to identify strategic projects that provide large areas of high-quality habitat and/or make a significant contribution to increasing the ecological connectivity within the Nature Recovery Network.
The prospectus aims to bring together programmes and projects in the region that would make a strategic contribution to the NRN. As well as being a reference for partners, this can help to inform the investment of resources into nature’s recovery by providing a project ‘pipeline’ that can be referred to when funding for nature recovery is made available. It is also a list that can be updated as projects are completed or move onto the next stage, when new projects are developed, or when new outcomes are identified.
As this prospectus is based primarily on existing projects/programmes or project ideas in the region, including those outlined in the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership (BACP) Action Plan, there is overlap between this prospectus and the strategic Green Infrastructure (GI) projects identified through the Joint Green Infrastructure Strategy. Coordination between WENP, BACP and the West of England GI Working Group is ongoing to ensure that the common aim of facilitating investment in natural environment-based projects is approached in a coherent way.
Programmes and projects are organised according to the ‘outcome’ that they will help to achieve in implementing the NRN (for instance, addressing a lack of connectivity in a certain location). The Prospectus provides a description of each programme/project, outlines its contribution to the NRN and other ecosystem services, sets out next steps, and, where possible, provides a cost estimate and lists project partners.
This is a working document and has been published to ensure transparency in the work of WENP. We welcome any comments and suggestions related to the Prospectus – get in touch at [email protected].
