Our Natural Capital team has advised The Lifescape Project, in its capacity as a responsible body, on entering into a conservation covenant with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), supporting the delivery of biodiversity net gain (BNG).

The agreement forms part of The Lifescape Project's growing portfolio of BNG habitat banks and helps secure the long-term management and enhancement of biodiversity. It reflects the increasing use of conservation covenants as a key mechanism for delivering high-integrity BNG projects and sets a strong benchmark for the standard of conservation covenants in this space.

The agreement supports the long-term protection of land at Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk as part of the RSPB's Lakenheath Fen reserve and will enable the site to secure the long-term delivery of biodiversity units. The site contains rare fen habitat of high distinctiveness, and its restoration will benefit both wildlife and the climate, with the area's peat soils providing valuable carbon storage.

The RSPB's work on conservation at scale, protecting and restoring habitats and helping to prevent species extinction, closely aligns with The Lifescape Project's mission to restore and protect wild landscapes.

Sustainability Partner Ben Stansfield worked together with Principal Associate Emma Cartledge-Taylor and Associate Jay Edwards to advise The Lifescape Project on the agreement. They worked closely with The Lifescape Project's Managing Lawyer Stephanie Smith and Rewilding Lawyer Catriona Campbell.

Ben Stansfield said: “Having worked closely with The Lifescape Project as its role has evolved, we drew on that knowledge and our wider experience to help deliver a conservation covenant tailored to its objectives. There’s a real momentum building around how these agreements are being used in practice, and this one stands out for the ambition behind it and the long-term outcomes it’s designed to deliver.”

Stephanie Smith, Managing Lawyer at The Lifescape Project, said: “We are delighted to have signed a conservation covenant with RSPB, a charity whose work is directly aligned with our mission at The Lifescape Project: conservation on a large scale, protecting and restoring habitats, and saving species from extinction.

"It’s particularly exciting that the BNG sales generated from the Lakenheath Fen site will be used to fund RSPB’s vital nature conservation and restoration work."

Dave Rogers, Site Manager for the RSPB at Lakenheath Fen added: “I’m really excited that we have completed the legal agreement and we can now proceed to enter the scheme onto the BNG register with Natural England. RSPB has been working with partners over the last three years to deliver the physical works on the ground to re-wet the land and allow the wetland habitats to develop, and this is another big step in the process to sell the resulting BNG units”.

The Lifescape Project is an independent charity focused on restoring and protecting biodiverse habitats and was among the first organisations designated as a responsible body under the Environment Act 2021. Its work aligns with the charity's broader mission to create, restore and protect wild landscapes. Gowling WLG advised the organisation on its first conservation covenant – an agreement with the nature restoration company Nattergal at High Fen Wildland in Norfolk, further supporting the restoration of this remarkable and important habitat.

In this latest agreement, the RSPB were advised by HCR Law.

Gowling WLG’s specialist Natural Capital team, part of its wider ESG group, has in-depth expertise in environmental and planning law and is immersed in the latest developments around sustainability and biodiversity. It works with clients across every major nature market and on a wide range of matters – helping organisations understand responsibilities, manage risks and pursue long‑term environmental goals. You can find out more about the team on its natural capital page.