Local nature partnerships
Local nature partnerships (LNPs) are a key Natural Environment White Paper commitment. One of the particularly clear messages from our consultation for the white paper was that there was a need for local areas to work in a joined up and strategic way.
The ambition for local nature partnerships is that they will help their local area to manage the natural environment as a system and to embed its value in local decisions for the benefit of nature, people and the economy.
To do this effectively they will need to be self-sustaining strategic partnerships of a broad range of local organisations, businesses and people with the credibility to work with and influence other local strategic decision makers.
The overall purpose of a local nature partnership is to:
- drive positive change in the local natural environment, taking a strategic view of the challenges and opportunities involved and identifying ways to manage it as a system for the benefit of nature, people and the economy
- contribute to achieving the government's national environmental objectives locally, including the identification of local ecological networks, alongside addressing local priorities
- become local champions influencing decision-making relating to the natural environment and its value to social and economic outcomes, in particular, through working closely with local authorities, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and health and wellbeing boards
At the heart of our ambition for LNPs is that each area finds its own way to make the LNP role real and meaningful locally. Within the framework of the overall LNP role, it is for each LNP to decide what their priorities are and how they work in the way that best suits the needs and challenges of their local area.
Derbyshire will be covered by 2 LNPs, the Peak District LNP and Lowlands Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The Peak District LNP was approved on 18 July 2012. The Lowlands Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire LNP will be approved later in the year.