Organised by the\u00a0<\/span>DICE Biodiversity Consulting Team<\/span><\/a>\u00a0through the\u00a0<\/span>E3 Sharing Space for Nature<\/span><\/a> Initiative, the Forum is part of a growing effort to build a community of practice around SCP in England. While originally planned as an in-person event, it was held online this year because of the outbreak of meningitis in East Kent. Although unexpected, this enabled almost 100 attendees to join us from across the UK and internationally.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Director of DICE, Professor <\/span>Bob Smith<\/span><\/a> opened the event and introduced SCP as a decision-science approach used globally to support conservation planning. By combining ecological evidence with socio-economic data and stakeholder inputs, SCP helps to identify where actions can most effectively deliver target outcomes. He introduced the <\/span>SNaP Community<\/span><\/a>, which aims to foster cross-sectoral collaboration to ensure SCP can meaningfully support policy and practice in England.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the keynote address,\u00a0<\/span>Pete Brotherton<\/span><\/a>, Director of Science at Natural England, set out the evolving legal and policy context. He highlighted a shift from focusing on protecting species and sites towards more strategic, landscape-scale approaches. This includes the introduction of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) in the Environment Act 2021, Environmental Delivery Plans in the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, and the publication of England’s first Land Use Framework just days before the Forum.<\/span><\/p>\n This section is now available to watch on YouTube<\/a>, with more talks to follow.<\/p>\n The first session\u00a0of talks\u00a0explored\u00a0international applications of SCP.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jen McGowan<\/span><\/a>\u00a0showcased\u00a0how tools such as\u00a0<\/span>Marxan<\/span><\/a>\u00a0have\u00a0been applied to real-world planning challenges across diverse contexts.\u00a0From zoning\u00a0of\u00a0timber production landscapes in the United States to informing marine spatial planning\u00a0for\u00a0debt restructuring in Barbados, a\u00a0consistent theme was the ability of SCP approaches to combine evidence-based analysis with participatory decision-making.\u00a0This is increasingly important\u00a0as countries work towards\u00a0<\/span>global biodiversity targets<\/span><\/a>\u00a0with a whole-of-society approach.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Fabrice Stephenson<\/span><\/a>\u00a0then presented a\u00a0<\/span>case study<\/span><\/a>\u00a0from New Zealand,\u00a0demonstrating\u00a0how SCP can support marine\u00a0planning\u00a0even\u00a0with\u00a0data limitations. By\u00a0integrating\u00a0statistical modelling, the project generated spatial datasets\u00a0representing\u00a0ecological\u00a0communities and bioregions. Collaboration with the Department of Conservation enabled\u00a0validation\u00a0of model outputs,\u00a0with\u00a0their\u00a0integration\u00a0into\u00a0spatial prioritisation\u00a0showing\u00a0how strategic additions to existing protected areas could deliver substantial gains in ecological representation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The session concluded with\u00a0<\/span>Dominic Muenzel<\/span><\/a>, who explored the future of social forestry in Indonesia. This applied spatial prioritisation in Prioritizr to identify areas where forest restoration, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation could be jointly maximised. By testing different weightings across these objectives, the analysis highlighted trade-offs and synergies, with outputs shared through an <\/span>online app<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n After\u00a0a short break, the focus returned to England, with presentations highlighting current practice and emerging opportunities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Karen Faux provided an overview of the challenges and opportunities for delivering landscape-scale nature recovery in Kent. She highlighted the county\u2019s <\/span>LNRS<\/span><\/a>\u00a0as a central framework in an increasingly complex spatial planning landscape. Kent benefits from strong partnerships, active\u00a0landscape\u00a0initiatives,\u00a0and an improving evidence base, but challenges\u00a0remain\u00a0in strengthening spatial data and integrating frameworks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From the south west,\u00a0<\/span>David Baker<\/span><\/a>\u00a0presented the application of the\u00a0<\/span>Ebrel<\/span><\/a> spatial prioritisation model to support the development of Cornwall\u2019s LNRS. Grounded in SCP principles, the tool helps identify priority areas for habitat creation where multiple options exist, enabling more transparent decision-making.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The final presentation, delivered by\u00a0<\/span>James Barton<\/span><\/a>, explored how spatial analysis can support large-scale investment in nature across England. By combining habitat transition potential with estimates of revenue from existing financial mechanisms, this work identified \u201cNature Investment Zones\u201d with strong potential for generating financial investment and ecological outcomes across 13 bioregions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Forum concluded with breakout discussions, giving participants the opportunity to discuss key themes with the presenters.\u00a0<\/span>Discussion Group A looked at international examples that highlighted the challenges of balancing science, policy and civic voice in SCP, while <\/span>Discussion Group B focused on delivering SCP within England\u2019s evolving policy landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n The Forum highlighted both the growing relevance of spatial approaches and the practical challenges of implementation. SCP offers a structured way to balance competing objectives and support better-informed decisions about where and how to act.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Looking ahead, a summary report of the Forum\u00a0will be\u00a0published\u00a0and the technical training sessions will be rescheduled for later in the year. We look forward to continuing to build the\u00a0<\/span>SNaP Community<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0welcome\u00a0your\u00a0involvement.\u00a0Thank you to all organisers,\u00a0presenters\u00a0and attendees\u00a0\u2013 we hope to see you again,\u00a0in-person,\u00a0at the\u00a0SNaP\u00a0Forum\u00a02027!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With\u00a0increasing pressure on land and sea to deliver for nature, climate and development,\u00a0the role of spatial planning has never been more important. At the end … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83585,"featured_media":916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[112],"tags":[6599,303104],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83585"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":920,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions\/920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Introduction: Bob Smith and Pete Brotherton<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Systematic conservation planning (SCP) best practice from around the world<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Examples of and opportunities for SCP in England<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/dice\/files\/2026\/04\/GroupPhoto-2.png\")
SCP\u00a0in\u00a0discussion<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n