High Peak Borough Council

This council acknowledges that:1. We are experiencing a nature crisis. With 41 per cent of wild species in declinenationally, and 15 per cent facing extinction, we recognise that:a) Nature is in long term decline, and the requirement to take action to reverse this is urgent;b) Nature provides us with vital support systems [‘ecosystem services’], and severe declinesin biodiversity are undermining nature’s productivity and adaptability, posing excessiveuncertainty for our economies and wellbeing;c) A thriving natural environment underpins a healthy, happy, prosperous society;d) The nature crisis and the climate emergency are intrinsically linked. The impacts of theclimate crisis are driving nature’s decline, while restoring nature provides a wide variety ofcost-effective benefits to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change;e) Many of our areas of work have an impact on nature, and we have responsibilities tomake decisions to protect and enhance it.2. To address the nature crisis and aim to achieve the multiple environmental benefitsthat nature can bring to people, this council acknowledges that the ‘Bigger, Better,More and Joined-up’ principles of the 2010 Lawton Report should be followed:a) There must be more space given to wildlife;b) Existing wild spaces must be expanded;c) The quality of existing wild spaces should be improved;d) The connectivity between wild spaces must be increased.

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