We need your views on how we can restore nature in the National Park
We’re now a couple of months into the consultation on our Draft National Park Partnership Plan 2024-49 and we’ve received comments from a range of people who have shared their experiences in the National Park and what they want this place to be like in the future. Thank you to everyone who has already taken part.
There are three key themes within our Draft Plan and we are asking for your feedback on these. Summaries of each theme are available to read on our Commonplace consultation website. You can share your views on each of them or just the areas which are relevant to you. Over the next few weeks we’ll be posting about each individual theme and what it means for you.
The first theme is ‘Restoring Nature‘.
Despite this being a National Park, nature is in real trouble here and we are losing nature at a scale never experienced before. It’s no longer enough for us to conserve what we have. We need to actively stop the decline and then reverse the loss of nature. This is in our interest as nature underpins our existence through the benefits and services it provides, such as food, air, water, materials, health and economic wealth.
This may sound like a scary scenario, but restoring nature will provide a number of benefits and opportunities for us all.
If we can build a strong nature network between our peatlands, forests and wetlands, the National Park could have a thriving and resilient landscape with native wildlife and improved natural habitats. It could also help us to mitigate against the effects of climate change by going beyond net zero to become an absorber of carbon from the atmosphere. By embracing new regenerative land uses, we can also support local communities and residents by providing opportunities for new green jobs and skills.
The National Park Authority has already set out our Future Nature vision and a number of projects are underway to support this vision. You can find out more about these in the video below.
A target has already been set through our Future Nature route map to ensure the widespread restoration of nature across the National Park by 2040.
The Restoring Nature section of our Draft National Park Partnership Plan outlines three important areas for focus to help us meet this target:
Everyone has a role to play in restoring nature, regardless of whether you own land or just enjoy a day visit here. From land managers who can change the way their land is managed to do more for nature, to visitors being mindful of their impact on the natural environment, to local residents planting trees or volunteering their time to take part in conservation volunteering – we want to know what role you can play.
Click on the links above or visit the Restoring Nature pages on our Commonplace consultation website to find out more about each section, let us know what you think and what you can do to help.
Delivery partners can also use our Full Survey to let us know how you can contribute to our Restoring Nature targets.
The closing date for responses is Wednesday 19th July 2023.