Implementing nature restoration law through localized collaboration: insights from England

Nature restoration ultimately depends on collective action at a local level. This is recognized internationally in legal, academic, and practitioner discourses. It is also recognized in England's new legal regime for nature restoration, which aims to support collaboration across the public, private, and third sectors in preparing and delivering locally led plans for nature recovery, Local Nature Recovery Strategies, across the entirety of the country. Analysis of existing localized collaborative approaches to environmental governance offers important insights for the design of nature restoration legislation due to their relevance for integrated ecosystem management. This paper takes an empirical legal approach to identifying key issues for localized, collaborative approaches to nature restoration in England using two methods: a systematic mapping review of research on landscape‐scale conservation, the catchment‐based approach, and shoreline management planning; and socio‐legal case studies of environmental partnership working. Insights from experience in England are that effective nature restoration laws must operate at multiple levels and across relevant regimes, comprise robust environmental regulation, monitoring and review mechanisms, and safeguard stakeholder involvement and public participation.