What is a Local Nature Recovery Strategy?

Local Nature Recovery Strategies are a new, England-wide system of statutory spatial strategies that aim to establish priorities and map proposals for specific actions to drive nature’s recovery and provide wider environmental benefits, introduced under the Environment Act. Every area of England will be covered by its own Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

The Greater Manchester Local Nature Recovery Strategy has been developed to set out how we can all work together to tackle the biodiversity emergency and improve access to nature. It will be Greater Manchester’s first statutory strategy for nature recovery and we will monitor progress against delivery over the next decade.

The Greater Manchester Local Nature Recovery Strategy sets out a roadmap for nature recovery across the city-region – how we can all work together towards a greener city region where nature is thriving and where we need to focus our efforts to have the biggest impact. It is a strategic document, covering the ten local authorities in GM.

The key components of the strategy include a new vision, aims and targets, along with specific priorities and actions for different habitats and particularly vulnerable species. To set out where we need to focus our efforts -the strategy also sets priority areas for action for nature recovery - a network for nature across GM.

Find out more about Local Nature Recovery Strategies here.

Why do we need a plan for nature recovery?

Like the rest of the country, Greater Manchester faces closely linked climate and biodiversity emergencies, with the abundance and diversity of many of our key species now in long term decline. This means that our natural environment is becoming less resilient and less able to provide us with the benefits we often take for granted. This includes defence against climate change and the extreme weather that we are already experiencing, as our natural environment helps reduce flood risk, reduce the impact of heatwaves in urban areas, and store carbon that would otherwise contribute to global warming.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, declared a biodiversity emergency in the city-region in March 2022, acknowledging – both locally and nationally – that we need to do more to support the recovery of nature and increase the benefits it provides to our people and our economy.

Find out more about the state of nature in Greater Manchester here.

How did we develop our strategy?

GMCA worked with stakeholders from across the city-region to develop the Greater Manchester first plan for nature, supported by the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit, Natural England, the ten GM local authorities, the Peak District National Park, and a steering group of partners, including:

Canals and Rivers Trust
Cheshire Wildlife Trust
City of Trees
Forestry Commission
Groundwork Greater Manchester
Irwell Catchment Partnership
Lancashire Wildlife Trust
National Farmers Union
National Trust
NHS Greater Manchester
Royal Horticultural Society
Southway Housing
Environment Agency
Transport for Greater Manchester
United Utilities
University of Manchester
Upper Mersey Catchment Partnership

What is already being done to help nature recover?

We are already seeing green shoots around Greater Manchester, with several initiatives underway to boost nature recovery including:

The declaration of a new National Nature Reserve, Pennington Flashes, in Wigan and Leigh.
The creation of Mayfield, Manchester’s first new park in 100 years.
The development of the Eden building in Salford, which features Europe's largest green wall.
The £2.6m Green Spaces Fund, which has supported 52 community-led projects to date.
The opening of the National Trust’s Castlefield Viaduct, which has transformed the historic viaduct into a park in the sky.
Undertaking surveys of all the main rivers and surrounding areas within the River Irwell catchment to understand the impact of invasive, non-native species and propose measures to tackle them.