Advice to Local Authorities

“All local authorities and other public authorities in England and Wales now have a Duty to have regard to the conservation of biodiversity in exercising their functions. The Duty aims to raise the profile and visibility of biodiversity, to clarify existing commitments with regard to biodiversity, and to make it a natural and integral part of policy and decision making.

Biodiversity is a core component of sustainable development, underpinning economic development and prosperity, and has an important role to play in developing locally distinctive and sustainable communities.”

(DEFRA, Guidance for Local Authorities on Implementing the Biodiversity Duty, 2007)

Local Authorities have a very important role in conserving biodiversity. In support of that role, EPR can
provide ecological expertise, backed by experience, in integrating biodiversity into Local Authority services in these key areas:

• Policy and Strategy;
• Management of Local Authority sites;
• Planning, Infrastructure and Development;
• Training; and
• Monitoring and Measuring Progress

The conservation of biodiversity, as set out in The Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006, means protecting existing Biodiversity but also includes enhancing and restoring populations of species and habitats. EPR can provide advice on what opportunities for protection, enhancement and restoration of biodiversity could be available to a Local Authority in areas ranging from a single site to a wider, forward-planning, and strategic level.