Funding has also been made available to assess sea grass and saltmarsh habitat restoration opportunities on inshore waters between the Rivers Tyne and Tees. It is anticipated that a complete blue carbon assessment of the sediments and habitats within our local coastal area will be established in 2022. This will build upon the recent research report which assessed the carbon capture and storage potential within the English North Sea. This report found that carbon stocks in the top 10cm of English North Sea, seabed sediment amount to nearly 20% of that held in UK forests and woodlands33.
Local Nature Recovery Strategy An Ecological Emergency Board has been set up within the County Durham Partnership with the sole purpose of producing a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). The Board is currently taking the lessons learnt from the Northumberland and Cumbrian Pilots and collating the data required to support the production of County Durham’s LNRS. Kelp restoration trial in action Credit: Harry Catherall, Newcastle University
Asks of Government • Increase funding via the Nature for Climate Fund or other mechanism, to enable conservation
organisations and landowners to increase the pace and scale of delivery of nature-based solutions to tackling climate change.
• In the event that statutory tree targets are introduced, provide additional localised support/guidance to
the Council to ensure that the right trees are planted in the right place in the county and progress can be monitored effectively.
• Provide greater clarity on how Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) emissions are calculated.
• Undertake further work to close the evidence gaps on the contribution of habitats to net zero. • Provide tools which help decision makers understand the dependencies and trade-offs within County Durham’s land-use system, along with the knock-on effects of proposals.
Burrows, M.T., Moore, P., Sugden, H., Fitzsimmons, C., Smeaton, C., Austin, W., Parker, R., Kröger, S., Powell, C., Gregory, L., Procter, W., Brook, T. (2021) Assessment of Carbon Capture and Storage in Natural Systems within the English North Sea (Including within Marine Protected Areas) A North Sea Wildlife Trusts, Blue Marine Foundation, WWF and RSPB commissioned report.
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View action plan on page 109
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