The Strategy

Camden Council is committed to achieving the vision and objectives set out in the Strategy, both via our own actions and by working with and supporting the activities of others. We recognise the value of biodiversity and the value of natural areas and green spaces for biodiversity, and we will continue to look for opportunities to increase these where we are able, and advocate for it where we are not.

The Council will ensure that all officers are aware of the need to consider biodiversity wherever it is consistent with the performance of their duties, and those officers for whom it is relevant will be provided with the relevant information and training. Owing to the potential links between the products and materials bought and used by the Council and our contractors and impacts on biodiversity we will also have regard to biodiversity conservation in our procurement processes.

We will achieve the vision and objectives set out in this Strategy through three core activities, which will be guided by three core principles.

Core activities

Core principles

This will provide a spatial framework for achieving our vision and objectives. It will not just inform our priorities but also give a broader ecological context for the actions the Council, other organisations and individuals are taking. It will acknowledge existing nature sites as core elements and look for both existing and potential connections between these sites. This map will evolve as we review and expand our knowledge of Camden’s nature and progress the Action Plan. It will respond to and reflect any guidance or regulation provided at a London or national level. The thematic areas of activity and objectives that will provide the framework for the Action Plan will contribute to this network by making areas for nature better and more joined up.

The core of this strategy and key to delivering a Nature Recovery Network and achieving our vision and objectives will be an Action Plan. As with the previous Biodiversity Action Plan, it will be developed and delivered alongside many other organisations working in the Borough. Many of these organisations are already doing great things for nature. The Council’s actions will be informed by the vision and objectives of the biodiversity strategy, as well as public consultation. Not only will the Action Plan set out what the Council will be doing to achieve the objectives and vision, it will also communicate actions being undertaken by other organisations in the Borough, and act as a resource for all. Developing and delivering actions will be an ongoing process. The Action Plan will be a live document updated regularly to include any new projects that emerge and update ongoing actions. We are aiming to launch the Action Plan in summer 2021. Progress made against the objectives will be assessed every five years. This will identify any gaps in both the Action Plan and the overall strategy, seeking to identify new actions to fill those gaps or revise and expand the objectives as necessary.

No one person or organisation can solve the ecological crisis, and helping nature recover in Camden is going to take all of us doing what we can; a diversity of individuals, organisations and businesses bringing their knowledge, skills and resources together. Camden’s previous Biodiversity Action Plan was developed and delivered by many such organisations working together, and the Council will continue to work with those partners, and new ones, to develop our Action Plan and Nature Recovery Network, in the Camden Nature Partnership. The role of the Camden Nature Partnership will be to:

Camden Council will provide the secretariat for the Partnership and seek funding to expand and deliver its work.

In developing the Action Plan and Nature Recovery Network, and in making decisions that have the potential to impact upon biodiversity, we will use the best information and evidence available to us. There are some gaps in our knowledge, so we will work with experts to improve the quality and extent of environmental information available to us. We will commission surveys, and work with partners to support wildlife recording and encourage, promote and develop citizen science projects.

Camden Council launched a Climate Action Plan in July 2020, the first of two five-year plans towards a net zero carbon Camden by 2030. These actions, by us and others, are vital if we are to reduce the scale of predicted potential climate change, but change is happening already, and will continue. Taking those changes into account, and resulting changes in biodiversity, will be essential when planning what we are doing. Future proofing our plans against climate change will give us the best chance of conserving current and future biodiversity.

The development and delivery of this Biodiversity Strategy, including the Action Plan and Nature Recovery Network, will be accompanied by ongoing communication and engagement. We want every citizen of Camden to be an advocate for the natural world, to have opportunities to be involved in improving our habitats and species, and to have the confidence and knowledge to take action themselves.