Valuing our natural environment

What is a Local Nature Partnership (LNP)?

Local Nature Partnerships (LNPs) are a Government initiative to create a step-change in how we work on the natural environment and are one of the key proposals made in the Natural Environment White Paper published in June 2011.

The Government's vision for LNPs is that they are self-sustaining strategic partnerships of a broad range of local organisations, businesses and people. They will help their local area to manage the natural environment as a system and to embed its value in local decisions for the benefit of nature, people and the economy.

The overall purpose of an LNP will be to:

• drive positive change in the local natural environment, taking a strategic view of the challenges and opportunities involved and identifying ways to manage it as a system for the benefit of nature, people and the economy.

• contribute to achieving the Government's national environmental objectives locally, including the identification of local ecological networks, alongside addressing local priorities.

• become local champions influencing decision-making relating to the natural environment and its value to social and economic outcomes, in particular, through working closely with local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Health and Wellbeing Boards.

What is the Hull and East Yorkshire LNP?

Local Nature Partnerships (LNPs) are a Government initiative to change how we work on the natural environment. In July 2012, Hull and East Yorkshire became one of the 48 partnerships to be given formal LNP status by Government.

The vision of the LNP is to work together throughout the Hull and East Yorkshire area to achieve a healthy natural environment and sustainable green economy, within our valued and distinctive landscapes, for the benefit of present and future generations.

The LNP will create a change in how we work on the natural environment in the local area. A strategic level partnership is needed to pull together the different strands of the natural environment.  In particular this will support landscape-scale working to create a resilient ecological network across the Hull and East Yorkshire area.

There already exists a range of partnerships and organisations working on the natural environment in the area. Whilst these work well at a local level and within their specific subject area, they have not been as successful at engaging with wider sectors and influencing decision-making related to the natural environment, such as the Local Enterprise Partnerships and Public Health Boards. They have also tended to work independently of each other without making the most of benefits to the natural environment from multi-themed projects.

The aim of the Hull and East Yorkshire LNP is not to replace or duplicate the work of existing partnerships, but to add value by complementing their work and drawing them together to work to deliver integrated benefits from, and for, the natural environment.

For more information on the LNP structure and areas of activity, you can download a copy of the Hull and East Yorkshire LNP's aims and objectives natural environment investment prospectus here:

Hull and East Yorkshire LNP Prospectus (pdf 1mb)

Where can I find further information about LNPs?

To find out more about 'valuing our environment' you can visit the following websites:

Defra's web page for the Natural Environment White Paper (external website)

Defra's web page for Local Nature Partnerships (external website)

If you are interested in being involved in the development of a Local Nature Partnership for Hull and East Yorkshire, please contact the Local Nature Partnership Development Officer:

Telephone: (01482) 391715
Email: sustainable.development@eastriding.gov.uk