www.gov.uk/natural-england

Landscapes for Life Conference 2017

Briefing

Natural England’s Landscape Monitoring

Chris Bolton (Natural England) and Sally Marshall (Land Use Consultants)

Some questions/issues.... to consider and feed

back to chris.bolton@naturalengland.org.uk

• How useful is FMEOPL to you since 2012? Any particular difficulties, issues,

(or benefits)

• What are you data analysis and evaluation needs? NE may be able to

contribute to this....collaboratively

• Is the Framework keeping in step with Management Planning data needs?

• Do you need data to inform Natural Capital – useful quantitative data on stock,

spend?

• Are you doing local landscape related monitoring? – or testing the national

trend data? - NE are interested in knowing more....

• Do we need more on land use/settlement change?

• Are you involved with any form of landscape observatory, bringing data

together locally?

Landscapes are changing

• Foresight: Land use futures –

making the most of land in the 21st century

2010 (gov.uk publications)

• Landscapes of the Future,

POSTNote 380, June 2011

• Going, Going, Gone? England’s Disappearing

Landscapes, CPRE, October 2013

• England’s Changing Landscapes: a review of landscape

change in England from 1940 to 2010. NE commissioned report from

Land Use Consultants, 2010

3

Landscape surveillance and monitoring strategy

National trends

Local insights People’s cultural values and response

Landscape Change

Monitoring

What is FMEOPL? .... Framework for Monitoring

Environmental Outcomes in Protected Landscapes

• Consistent framework - for monitoring environmental

outcomes delivered in protected landscapes

• Evidence – to support many purposes

• National datasets – brought together by NE

• Governance – five key partners on steering group

Questionnaire (2013) How did it work for you?

*e.g. info for presentations; comparison with locally derived data

*

Benefits include....

Evidence base to:

• Inform local review of statutory

management plans

• Monitor the ‘state of the park’/

AONB

• Identify exemplars

• Support funding bids

• Demonstrate benefits of

protected landscape

designation

• ‘Spine’ around which local data

can be added

Three themes

• Natural Beauty

• Recreation

• Ecosystem Services

Example: Natural Beauty (PLNB) data

Interactive spreadsheets – Analysis tool for uptake of

agri-environment of options for management and

creation of:

• Archaeological features

• Hedgerows and hedgerow trees

• Woodlands

• Grassland (low input)

• Lowland heathland

• Moorland

The ES analysis tool– easy to use e.g. EK2 Permanent grassland with low inputs

Included datasets

• Agri-env: Area (ha) and Costs (£) - NE

• SSSI condition (NE)

• Heritage at risk (HEng)

• Woodland management (FC)

• Ecological status of water (EA)

• Publicly accessible land (NE)

• Land Cover Map 2007 (NE; source CEH)

Trend analysis – examples only

Year Good Moderate Poor Bad

2012 1547 3183 789 39

2013 1509 2947 955 49

2014 1670 2899 1037 40

2015 1312 3185 1155 40

e.g. Water Quality (ecological status)

All AONBs (Km)

SSSI Condition for all AONBs (ha)

2012 - 2017

FAVOURABLE UNFAV RECOVING UNFAV NO CHANGE UNFAV DECLINING

2012 77,942 172,363 2,916 2,642

2013 80,053 166,670 2,912 6,243

2014 80,667 167,109 3,081 4,969

2015 81,134 166,603 3,153 4,881

2016 83,386 164,383 3,150 4,819

2017 84,629 159,361 7,040 4,712

All AONBs:

Area under

ES (ha)

2014 -17

Dorset AONB

ES Spend:

All AONBs

2014 - 17

Arnside and

Silverdale AONB