Nature Improvement Area

Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs) are an ongoing network of large scale initiatives in the landscape of England to improve ecological connectivity and improve biodiversity. At 2015 the NIAs cover 47,000 acres of England in total, achieved at a total cost of £7.5 million. At spring 2015 the NIAs have also added a further 13,500 acres beyond the initial 2012 areas, as well as a total of 335 miles of new footpaths for public access.

The NIAs form part of the UK Government's response to Sir John Lawton's 2010 report "Making Space for Nature". They were then brought into law via the Natural Environment White Paper, the first natural environment government White Paper in 20 years. In October 2011 a competition was launched by DEFRA to select twelve pilot sites for NIAs, and in response seventy-six entries were made. On 27 February 2012 the final list of 12 Nature Improvement Areas was announced. The NIAs were launched in 2012 they run with the aid of Local Nature Partnerships and around 11,000 local volunteers.

The first twelve Nature Improvement Areas in England are:

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