Protecting the environment

Our role

The natural environment is so important. Nature underpins the world we live in; acting as the foundation of all civilisation, of which we are all dependent on. The natural world provides us with clean air, clean water, food, timber, flood protection and green spaces for people to enjoy. The natural environment is home to a wide variety of species, of which are also all dependent on nature to survive. The protection of our natural environment is critical to having a sustaining and functioning society.

We manage the county’s resources in a sustainable manner to protect, restore and enhance our natural environment. As well as ensure a better quality of life for all our residents.

We do this by:

• developing and creating new and existing initiatives to guide our long-term environmental strategy
• giving advice to planners on the natural environment, climate change mitigation and adaptation
• responding to national consultations on environmental topics
• engaging with a wide range of partners across Essex, to provide a consistent and committed approach to protecting our natural environment, sharing expertise, knowledge, and experience
• supporting the delivery of green-space engagement projects across Essex

Our strategy

Our green infrastructure strategy details how we plan to deliver a network of high-quality green infrastructures and spaces across Essex.