Nature

National Nature Reserves (NNRs)

Natural England has powers, stemming from the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 to designate land as a National Nature Reserve (NNR). The aim is to secure protection and appropriate management of the most important areas of wildlife habitat, to provide a resource for scientific research and to provide a resource for recreation so long as this does not compromise the wildlife habitat. NNRs have an important public role. The majority of NNRs have some permitted access and every year Natural England welcome parties of schoolchildren and students encouraging them to learn about conservation management and see a range of wild animals and plants in their natural habitat. The statutory purpose of NNRs was revised through the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act to formally recognise the important recreation role the reserves play.

NNRs are usually designated for their broader ecological value rather than for the presence of any rare species. There are however a number of sites which hold important numbers of scarce or rare species. A number of factors may contribute to the designation of a NNR. These may include; how fragile a site is, the size of the site, how 'natural' the site is and the presence of species rich communities. The NNR network represents almost every kind of vegetation type found in England.

NNRs can be managed in a number of ways:

• Natural England may either directly own the land, or hold it on lease