Nature Recovery Network
Here in Gloucestershire we are at the forefront of local Nature Recovery Network mapping and are influencing other partners across the country. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust have produced a local nature recovery network map which builds on work done by the Neighbouring West of England LNP and Somerset Wildlife Trust. The map shows existing core habitat patches, their current connectivity based on existing land use, their resilience status and prioritized zones of opportunity for reinforcing and expanding the network (i.e. opportunities for nature’s recovery).
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The NRN mapping together with the Ecosystem service mapping on the Natural Capital pages will be used as the mapping for the Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), which are mandated in the new Environment Act, informing a spatial master plan for nature restoration across the county.
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Each county will be producing a LNRS so it is important for the local mapping to join up across the borders, particularly for partners like the local AONBs which straddle several counties, as nature does not stop at the border. The mapping methodology for Gloucestershire has accounted for the borders by mapping an overlapping buffer and conferring with neighbouring counties over the methodologies used.