Monitoring the impact of EAS on landscape

Natural England is the government's adviser for the natural environment in England. Our purpose is to help conserve, enhance and manage the natural environment for the benefit of present and future generations, thereby contributing to sustainable development. Further information about Natural England can be found at: Natural England The contract is funded through the Agri-environment Evidence Programme which is led by Natural England and funded by Defra. The programme monitors and evaluates Agri-Environment (A-E) Schemes. More information can be found in the 2022 Annual Report for the Agri-environment Evidence programme (NERR126)

This project will provide further evidence of the contribution that AE schemes make to the aims and aspirations of the Defra 25 YEP for conserving and enhancing beauty and England's distinctive landscape character; also, the need identified by the Glover Landscapes Review for better evidence of how England's landscapes are changing and using the evidence to more pro-actively influence desired changes and to ascertain the contribution that AES are making in that broader context. The project will make a highly significant contribution to supporting the Defra 25 YEP because the AES scheme landscape monitoring uses the same spatial and reporting framework (National Character Areas) and the findings will feed directly into the Defra 25 YEP Outcome Indicator G1: 'Changes to landscape and waterscape character'.

The body of AES landscape monitoring evidence is now substantial and whilst it is necessary to keep the assessments of scheme effectiveness updated, the emphasis must now be to use the evidence to inform a more strategic approach to the landscape spatial prioritisation and targeting of AE Schemes in the wider context of England's landscapes and how they are changing. There are also lessons to be learnt to inform a way to integrate Landscape more robustly into the mix of outcomes delivered by current and future AE Schemes, in a way that also assists landscape as context for nature recovery and making landscapes more resilient to climate change.