We were commissioned by Defra to deliver a process, impact, and value for money evaluation framework for the strengthened Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act Biodiversity Duty.
The Biodiversity Duty, first introduced by the NERC Act, requires public authorities in England to consider biodiversity conservation when carrying out their functions.
Due to a lack of effectiveness, the Duty was strengthened through amendments made by the Environment Act 2021, which aim to enhance the protection and restoration of the natural environment. The strengthened Biodiversity Duty requires public authorities to take a more proactive approach to conserving and enhancing biodiversity in the discharge of their functions.
With growing scrutiny on environmental performance and increasing alignment with related policies such as Biodiversity Net Gain and Local Nature Recovery Strategies, public authorities face a complex but critical challenge in operationalising this enhanced Duty.
This report includes a preliminary evaluation of the process implementing the Duty, conducted between August and October 2024. Drawing on a range of secondary data sources, survey responses, and in-depth interviews, our research explored public authorities’ awareness, approaches, and ability to act on the strengthened Duty.
Our analysis suggests there is a lack of awareness of the strengthened Duty amongst public authorities, with approximately one third of survey respondents unaware of its applicability. Limited resources, competing priorities, and gaps in technical expertise emerged as major constraints. A lack of prescriptive guidance has also led to diverse approaches in how authorities consider and implement the Duty.
Within our findings there was however encouraging evidence of biodiversity being integrated into corporate processes and decision-making, despite challenges around resource constraints, institutional integration, amongst others. There was also a good level of reporting obligations awareness.
This early evaluation provides valuable insights that will help inform future monitoring, shepherd in improvements in guidance and support, and strengthen implementation of the Duty, enhancing the effectiveness of biodiversity action across England.
The full evaluation framework and evaluation questions for impact and value for money were delivered as a separate report to Defra.
Download the report here.
