Public Authorities

The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (NERC, 2006) creates a duty for every organization within the public sector to have due regard for biodiversity.  A full list of more than 900 public bodies affected by the duty is available from the Civil Service website.  The list ranges from British Waterways Board to the NHS Trusts, Local Authorities, Parish Councils and Tate Modern. 

The NERC Act aims to raise the profile of biodiversity by engaging bodies across the public sector, and for the first time giving it legislative backing.  It also aims to clarify existing requirements with regard to biodiversity and embed biodiversity in the decision-making process.  Two sets of guidance have been produced by Defra one aimed at local authorities and another more generic guidance document aimed at all public bodies.  These guides can be downloaded from the Defra publications website. If you would like a hard copy of either of these documents, please contact us using the email box below.

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust have produced their own guidance leaflet and poster. Download these below, or request hard copies using the email box below. The poster is A2 size.












Wiltshire Wildlife Trust NERC duty guidance leaflet
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust NERC duty guidance poster

The Wiltshire, Swindon and Cotswold Water Park Biodiversity Partnerships got togethre to hold a Conference on 27th June 2007 at the Science Museum in Wroughton to provide guidance to public authorities in Wiltshire about the duty.
Download the proceedings >

Email us for further information about the NERC act and the duty placed on Public Authorities>