Blue Green Nature Recovery

Seagrass Ocean Rescue. Credit: Lewis M Jefferies

Local Nature Recovery Strategies

In England, Defra wants to create 48 Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) that cover the entire country with no overlaps or gaps. Led by a mix of local authorities and combined authorities, they set out the priorities and action plans for every area to address the shocking loss of biodiversity around us and help nature recover.

Slated to be in place by March 2025, just four of these strategies have been published to date: Isle of Wight, West of England, North Northamptonshire and Cornwall.

That the strategies from the remaining 44 areas (over 90%) are now overdue is a big concern. Of equal concern to Carbon Copy, is a further issue relating to the scope of these proposed strategies that has been highlighted by Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Head of Marine Conservation, Dan Barrios-O’Neill.

Marine Conservation

Speaking on the latest episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, released ahead of World Oceans Day on June 8, Dan said: 

“The fact that our Local Nature Recovery Strategies stop at the tide line is something of an issue because nature doesn’t really respect that boundary. On the land, we have the ability to buy sections of land and do conservation in the way that we think is best on that land. And that’s great, and it should be done, of course, but that doesn’t get to happen in the sea.” 

There’s a real and urgent need throughout the UK to make this connection between conservation on land and in the sea. No one lives more than 80 miles from the sea, and as such, many of our lives and livelihoods depend on healthy marine environments.  

Protect Our Shores is part of UK charity Carbon Copy’s campaign 25 Big Local Actions in 2025. This Carbon Copy campaign reinforces the need for more local areas around the UK coastline to recognise the importance of conserving nature underwater as well as on land. Of conserving the blue as well as the green.

Our connection to the deep sea extends all the way from our inland rivers, streams and other waterways. Destructive actions on the land – agricultural practices, deforestation, urbanisation – all impact our shores and the waters beyond; and the same is true in reverse. Without healthy, functioning marine ecosystems we leave ourselves at risk from the impacts of climate change: coastal flooding, economic pressures and food insecurity to name a few. The positive and incredibly destructive ways in which we treat the ocean and our shorelines have natural spillover effects for good and bad. That’s one of the reasons why the new documentary, Ocean by David Attenborough, is such a powerful wake-up call.

Turning The Tide

Cornwall Council, who are already leading the way with terrestrial conservation efforts have opted to develop a voluntary Marine Nature Recovery Framework, to complement and support the LNRS in the county. Working alongside the council, Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Your Shore Network is supporting local community-led environmental groups to implement marine conservation projects and to get involved with campaigning to help protect the sea locally and nationally.

As always, we can do something positive right now. We can help turn the tide on endlessly depleting the finite wealth of our land and marine resources. For the majority of local areas in England currently working on their respective Local Nature Recovery Strategies, there is more that can be done to connect the green with the blue. As citizens we can use our voices locally to support this action and to highlight areas like Cornwall that have taken the lead. For those of us living within easy reach of the coast, we can copy initiatives like the Your Shore network that involve more people in marine conservation alongside nature conservation on land.