Protecting Nature
As a Responsible Body, our goal is to make habitat restoration and biodiversity enhancement a viable and effective solution for landowners and developers empowering them to offset their ecological impacts. At the same time, we are helping to reverse decades of environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, and the negative consequences of climate change.
Through these efforts, we aim to contribute to a legacy of environmental stewardship that will benefit future generations. By restoring natural habitats and promoting biodiversity, we are not just mitigating environmental harm, but actively working to create a more sustainable and resilient planet.
In partnership with developers, landowners, habitat banks and local authorities we focus on restoring degraded landscapes across the UK, returning them to their natural, biodiverse state. This restoration process connects existing protected areas, creating vital wildlife corridors and nature networks that strengthen ecosystems and help to preserve biodiversity. Our work supports the broader conservation effort by improving ecological resilience, enhancing water quality, and contributing to flood risk management.
By fostering these partnerships, we strive to demonstrate that ecological restoration and responsible land use can coexist, creating a win-win scenario for both the environment, and development sector. In doing so, we are taking meaningful steps toward a more sustainable and biodiverse future.
What is a Responsible Body?
As a Responsible Body, ProHort EcoShield can enter into conservation covenants with landowners and developers. Conservation covenants are legally binding agreements that are designed to establish the long term maintenance and improvement of land. Although conservation covenants can be set up to protect land for a range of different reasons, one of their primary uses is to support the delivery of Biodiversity Net Gain related to development.
The role of a Responsible Body involves:
Setting up the Agreement
Drawing up the Conservation Covenant in agreement with the land owner, which specifies the conservation goals to be met and what work can and can not be completed on the land. This will be set up as a Local Land charge and will be passed on to any future buyers of the land.
Monitoring
Monitoring the implementation of the maintenance and improvements detailed within the conservation covenant, to ensure that they are carried out as per the agreement.
Enforcement
We believe that communication is an essential part of our agreement with the land owners we work with. Therefore, we will maintain an open dialogue with those we enter into conservation covenants with. However, enforcement measures will be taken if there are repeated breaches of the Conservation Covenant agreement.
Find out more about what we do as a Responsible Body and how to start setting up your Conservation Covenant, click here.