With voters soon heading to the polls for local elections, today’s blog by Jess Chappell, England Senior Policy Officer, sets out five key actions that England’s newly elected metro and city mayors should take for nature.
With eyes currently on Westminster as we await news of a general election, it might be easy to underestimate the importance of the elections taking place in many parts of England next month. On 4th May 2024, voters will be selecting new local government leaders across England, including the Mayor of London and nine of the 11 directly elected metro mayors who are responsible for delivering change across their city and region.
Like national governments across the UK, these local decision makers have a responsibility to protect and enhance the environment for future generations, and an important role to play in ensuring nature’s recovery at a local level.
And they are in a perfect position to do so. Our local leaders know places and people on their doorstep. They are well-placed to know what is needed - and where - to help wildlife and local communities thrive.
Investing in nature at a local level not only benefits wildlife, but also provides a wealth of other benefits to local communities. Increasing people’s access to nature-rich green spaces improves health and wellbeing and can help bring communities together. Habitat creation and restoration can directly boost employment. And one of the most affordable, effective and quickest ways to tackle climate change and help communities adapt to changing weather is to restore nature.
This is why we have written to candidates in mayoral elections across England setting out five actions that we believe May’s newly elected mayors should take to recover nature in their regions.
1.Show leadership on the development and delivery of a bold and ambitious Local Nature Recovery Strategy:
The Environment Act 2021 introduced plans for the whole of England to be covered by a network of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), which will identify current areas of natural habitat that need protecting and potential areas for restoration. These strategies should direct environmental investment to the right places to create bigger, better, and more joined up wildlife habitats, and improve access to nature for local communities. Mayors have an important role to play in leading and championing both development and delivery of their region’s LNRS.
2.Drive forward nature positive placemaking:
By working with local authority partners, newly elected mayors should ensure that local planning arrangements create places where people and nature can co-exist, with enhanced access to nature for everyone. Nature-based solutions should be the priority and default approach for all new development to help with climate change adaptation and mitigation.
3.Lead on eliminating amenity pesticide use:
Many UK villages, towns and cities have already started the process of going pesticide free. Mayors should support local businesses, local authorities and local communities to end the use of pesticides in public areas of our towns and cities - such as playgrounds, pavements etc - in order to protect human health and the environment.
4.Return waterways to good ecological status:
Waterways in England are facing multiple pressures – for example from pollutants, invasive species, and land management practices. All of which are likely to be exacerbated with climate change. As a result only 14% of waterways in England currently meet good ecological status. By working with partners to look for ways to manage water across region more sustainably, metro mayors have an opportunity to improve water quality in a way which provides benefits for nature, human health, and climate resilience.
5.Reduce impacts of public purchasing on nature:
Procuring goods, services and works with a reduced environmental impact is a great way for metro mayors and local authorities to use their spending power to benefit nature. For example, by ensuring that food served in public institutions supports nature friendly farming locally, and deforestation-free supply chains further afield.
This is not, of course, an exhaustive list. But our wildlife is rapidly disappearing, and what is clear is that bringing it back is not just a role for national government - leaders at all levels have a vital role to play. We need this new intake of regional mayors to put nature at the heart of all policy and decision making, and in doing so lead the way in demonstrating the vital role that city leaders can play in tackling the nature and climate crisis.
You can make this case to all candidates in your area in the upcoming local elections to ensure that the new mayors elected this May work to make their regions even better places for people and for nature.