Wildlife and biodiversity issues relate to the variety of plants and animals that exist within the Essex County Council area. Essex contains several valuable and rare habitats, from coastal saltmarshes and mudflats to ancient woodlands, trees and wetlands.

 

Essex County Council has a duty to ensure that these environments are managed and maintained, where it owns them or carries out activities that may affect them. It aims to ensure that the diverse array of plant and animal life across the county is protected, managed and recorded so that future generations will be able to enjoy them.

 

Essex County Council employs ecologists and works with a range of partners and experts in order to ensure that the county meets its statutory obligations and that decisions across a wide range of areas are informed by wildlife and biodiversity issues.

 

Essex County Council is involved in several schemes and initiatives designed to protect and enhance the biodiversity of Essex. The following projects and initiatives target specific subjects and issues relating to wildlife and biodiversity.

 

Essex has been chosen as 1 of 6 national pilot areas to test a new and innovative initiative know as 'Biodiversity Offsetting'.

 

Biodiversity offsets are conservation activities designed to deliver biodiversity benefits in compensation for losses, in a measurable way. Biodiversity offsetting has the potential to deliver planning policy requirements for compensation for biodiversity loss in a more effective way for both developers and the natural environment itself.

 

The combination of high-levels of development and more planned growth makes Essex an excellent place to test biodiversity offsetting, and explore its potential to enhance and join-up the county’s fantastic – yet often fragmented - natural landscape in ways that are currently not possible.

 

Essex County Council is leading a strong partnership of public, private and not-for-profit organisations. In particular we will be working closely with the Environment Bank Ltd trialling a brokering system; and the Mineral Products Association to explore the role of and benefits to the aggregates industry.

 

Our offsetting strategy is guided by the Living Landscapes initiative established by Essex Wildlife Trust in collaboration with local authorities and their community partners.

 

The principle of biodiversity offsetting is also imbedded within the Greater Thames Marshes Nature Improvement Area.

 

We are looking for forward-thinking developers and landowners to work with who wish to explore the potential benefits offsetting could provide to themselves as well as the wildlife of Essex.

 

More details are provided in the following information sheets:

 

 

As part of our commitment to wildlife and biodiversity, Essex County Council plays an active role in the Essex Biodiversity project. The Project brings together a range of organisations to protect and enhance wildlife, improving the variety of life in the Essex area by implementing the Essex Biodiversity Action Plan. The Project publishes information leaflets on species, provides educational resources, assists with planning and community strategies and works with volunteers, alongside a range of other activities. Through the Essex Biodiversity Project website, you can access the full range of services on offer.

 

The Essex local wildlife sites website provides information and advice for the 1600 local wildlife sites (LoWS) within the county. Working in partnership with Essex Wildlife Trust and a range of organisations, the LoWS project identifies and surveys sites, provides advice on available grants and assists in carrying out essential works on these vital ecological resources.

 

Biological Records in Essex is a partnership working to improve the availability of biological information in the county. Through their website, BRIE works with individuals, groups and communities to create a constantly expanding record of species and species distribution within the county.

 

Essex County Council’s Wildlife and Biodiversity team work closely with the council owned Country Parks to ensure that the parks maintain and manage a diverse number of habitats within their borders and encourage native species to thrive.

 

Special verges provide an invaluable habitat for wild flowers and other native species across the county. Essex County Council works with a range of partners to maintain and improve these important resources.