© Janet Packham
Responsible Bodies and Conservation Covenants
A number of Wildlife Trusts across England have been designated Responsible Bodies by Defra. This designation means that they can enter into legally-binding agreements known as Conservation Covenants with landowners and developers in order to secure the protection of the natural or heritage features of a landholding for a specified time period.
Conservation Covenants are a flexible and bespoke legal tool which enable landowners to deliver Biodiversity Net Gain alongside a trusted and experienced local partner.Head of Nature Recovery Networks, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
The role of a Responsible Body is to legally secure land and its associated conservation objectives. To ensure the commitments of the landowner are achieved, the Responsible Body undertakes regular monitoring and evaluation of the land and can take legal enforcement action to mitigate or remediate any failings.
One of the main uses of Conservation Covenants at present is to secure the long-term biodiversity commitments associated with the delivery of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).
Designated Responsible Bodies across The Wildlife Trusts
Conservation Covenants explained
What is a Conservation Covenant?
A Conservation Covenant agreement is between two parties, a Responsible Body (such as a Wildlife Trust or other charity) and a landowner, and lays out commitments on how the land will be managed for conservation purposes.
This might be, for example, an agreement to maintain a particular habitat and allow public access to it, or to avoid certain land management techniques.
These agreements are long-term and legally-binding, and any stipulations within the Covenant continue if land changes hands, ensuring that its conservation value is protected.
What is a Responsible Body?
Responsible Bodies are designated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and must be a local authority, a public body or charity, whose main purpose relates to conservation, or an organisation other than a public body or charity, where some of its main activities relate to conservation. A Responsible Body’s role is to enter into the Conservation Covenant and ensure the other party meets the requirements of public good, legal acuity and ecological or heritage delivery.
What are the benefits of using Conservation Covenants?
Conservation Covenants offer bespoke, private agreements that help landowners fulfil their conservation obligations by setting clear guidelines with the Responsible Body. They typically take less time to obtain than a planning condition via the local authority while they also offer greater flexibility by providing a means of securing land for nature conservation without needing to purchase the land.
In the planning process, a Conservation Covenant provides an alternative to Section 106 (S106) agreements, which is a legal agreement between a Local Planning Authority and a property owner (also known as a planning obligation).
Why use a Wildlife Trust as your Responsible Body?
Your local Wildlife Trust has decades of experience in delivering high quality nature conservation projects. This, combined with wide-ranging ecological expertise, will ensure your Biodiversity Net Gain project is both achievable and delivers the right habitats in the right place.
What is the relevance of Conservation Covenants to Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)?
BNG is a planning principle that aims to leave nature in a measurably better state than it was found, and provide for a ‘net gain’ in biodiversity. Conservation Covenants offer a legal tool for the delivery of BNG. A Conservation Covenant will lay out how the land is to be managed and monitored in order to deliver a ‘net gain’ for nature over a specific time period (usually 30 years if being used for BNG delivery). Once a Conservation Covenant is in place, a landholding can be added to the national Biodiversity Net Gain sites register.
