Space for Nature

In September 2009 Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Rt. Hon Hilary Benn MP announced a review of England’s wildlife sites and ecological network. The ‘Space for Nature’ review panel, chaired by Professor Sir John Lawton, is exploring whether England’s collection of wildlife areas represents a coherent and robust ecological network that will be capable of responding to the challenges of climate change and other pressures. The review panel is currently gathering evidence and is due to report by June 2010.

In February ENPAA was formally invited to contribute written evidence to the review. You can read our response here. We believe that National Parks provide an ideal opportunity to develop a more comprehensive approach to biodiversity conservation that will sustain and enhance the important habitats found within them. The approach that we advocate would provide better links through habitat networks both within National Parks, and beyond their boundaries. Our response also contains a number of case studies outlining projects that National Park Authorities are already involved in to link and extend habitat networks.