Landscape Pioneer

North Devon Landscape Pioneer

North Devon chosen to explore future environmental management in innovative pioneer project

On the 11th of January the Prime Minister launched the 25 Year Environment Plan. This plan will inform the approach to environmental management post EU Exit, aiming to improve the state of the environment for wildlife and future generations within 25 years.

To inform the content of the 25 year environment plan, four pioneer projects have been set up around the country. North Devon has been chosen to host the Landscape Pioneer. Natural England will be leading the project, trialling innovative and exciting new approaches to manage farmland, natural habitats, watercourses, coasts and urban environments in a better way for people and nature. The pioneer will be looking at new methods of funding environmental improvements and drawing on strategic decision making to improve the capacity of current resources.

The Landscape Pioneer is led by Natural England (NE) and is based in the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. This Pioneer is testing the use of natural capital in determining environmental priorities and agreeing actions to target them. At its heart is an innovative process for creating a shared plan that identifies where investment in natural capital is most needed and securing new investment for those projects in the Pioneer area.

The Pioneer has already mapped how existing funding for natural capital is distributed across the Biosphere Reserve. Then building on the work the Biosphere has previously done the Pioneer identified the ecosystem services that are provided by the different land uses and has been working with stakeholders to value them and assess how they change over time. Investment priorities – such as water quality or natural flood management – will be established jointly with partners, based on this assessment.

Whilst the pioneer is due to end March 2019, there will be key work areas that will probably continue after the official end date.

The priority programmes are:

Testing the Net Gain policy in the Biosphere with the local planning authorities
New Environmental Land Management Scheme; trying new approaches for the post EU Exit agri-environment support scheme including business support.
Natural Capital Strategy and associated investment plans; to identify the key investments in the Biosphere's natural assets that will deliver optimised benefits and the innovative finance mechanisms to deliver the change

Where possible we will be bringing the Marine and Landscape Pioneer programmes together to demonstrate how we manage the area as a single system.

If you would like to know more about the project please contact Dr Jo Traill Thomson at: jo.traillthomson@naturalengland.org.uk