Reviewing the evidence to protect natural sites

Research Team

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Eirini Saratsi – Natural England  

Em Pope – Natural England  

Gavin Stark – Natural England (2023-25)

Jan Maclennan – Natural England (2024-25)

Partners

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Aims

Spending time in nature is good for people’s health and wellbeing, and encouraging people to connect with nature is part of the Government’s 25 Year Plan for the environment. However, human visitors have an impact on nature, particularly in fragile or sensitive sites. Many of the UK’s important places for nature have designated ‘protected site’ status, which means their biodiversity and/or geological value is recognised and protected by law.

Protected Sites (of land, freshwater, or sea) serve as indicators of healthy, naturally functioning landscapes, but are vulnerable to multiple pressures, including the impacts of recreational activity. One way to deal with this problem is to exclude people from protected sites but given what we know about the benefits people get from nature, exclusion isn’t always the answer.

The RENEW team are conducting a systematic literature review drawing on UK and international evidence to establish how we can successfully manage human access to these places to minimise impact and protect what makes them special. We intend to generate new knowledge of how effective behaviour-change interventions are for addressing environmental impacts of recreational activities in terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems (i.e. on land and in the sea, rivers and lakes). We aim to answer the following questions:

• What social science measures have been used to reduce the impact of visitors, recreational users and tourists in protected areas and other natural sites?
• How effective have different types of intervention been in minimising those impacts in the short- and long-term, and why?
• What are the implications for the management of protected sites, including for social inclusion and future policy?

Approach

The first step was to establish the criteria needed to search existing evidence for relevant studies that would help us answer our research questions. A rigorous, systematic search of the literature was then conducted to identify relevant studies, which in turn were assessed for their research quality and the scientific validity of their findings. Key lessons and findings are now being synthesised into a written report. Looking at research into a range of different interventions and different settings is enabling us to see not only whether different measures have worked, but also understand why – and what that might mean for designing a future strategy in managing biodiversity recovery in protected and other sensitive sites.

Natural England’s Protected Site Strategies (PSS) program focuses on addressing environmental issues threatening biodiversity and geodiversity in and beyond Protected Sites, ensuring that such sites remain healthy and resilient for years to come and that they benefit both people and the natural world in numerous ways. We have co-designed this systematic review with Natural England to help deliver the PSS objectives.

In Phase 1 of the systematic review (2023-2024), we focused on non-consumptive recreational activities (e.g. all activities excluding hunting and fishing). We included only studies that test the effect of an intervention by comparing the findings of the experiment against results from unchanged conditions (i.e. experimental studies with randomised or non-randomised control design).

In Phase 2 (2025-2026), we are focusing on consumptive recreational activities, such as hunting and fishing, following the same methodology as in Phase 1. In addition, we are including studies that assess the effects of various interventions by comparing their outcomes before and after their implementation, rather than comparing outcomes of single interventions against unchanged conditions (i.e. experimental designs including uncontrolled before-after studies or studies with alternative interventions instead of a control). We are also extending the systematic review of non-consumptive recreational activities (Phase 1) by using the same study design criteria used for Phase 2.

Once the review is complete, we will be publishing a report that will summarise our findings and recommendations.

“Evidence is growing about the benefits of recreation in natural environments, but there is also mounting concern about the environmental impacts of recreational activities. We need management strategies that allow us to encourage people to spend time in nature but minimise wildlife disturbance and habitat degradation. The review will help Natural England’s site managers and other staff to achieve those aims.”

– Bethan Stagg, Social Scientist, Forest Research (formerly Research Fellow, University of Exeter)

Next steps

Our findings will be of use to researchers and conservation practitioners in government agencies and NGOs responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating interventions to address problematic recreational impacts in protected areas and other important natural sites. The review will provide insights into the strengths and limitations of different approaches for addressing recreational impacts on natural spaces.

Findings from the systematic review will directly inform the responses of future Protected Site Strategies to recreational pressures across England. This work will support nature recovery in protected sites and surrounding landscapes in ways that benefit social inclusion as well as ecological improvement. The work also has the potential to guide future policymaking for managing recreational disturbance.

Outputs

Our report will be linked here once published.