Our Biodiversity Action Framework and reporting

Being positive for nature

Providing council services can affect biodiversity both positively and negatively.

Through our Biodiversity Action Framework, we have committed to reducing our negative impacts on nature and delivering enhancements to help reverse local, national, and global biodiversity declines. 

Effects on biodiversity can arise from how we manage:

• our land
• our planning applications and decisions
• the advice we give, raising awareness
• the impacts of our operations on the environment. 

We can take strategic positive action to support nature recovery, working with our partners on the priorities identified in our Local Nature Recovery Strategy. 

Biodiversity Action Framework

The Biodiversity Action Framework sets out the council’s guiding principles, policies and objectives for tackling the ecological emergency and fulfilling our statutory obligations to further the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity through two connected roles: 

• transforming our own organisation through our Biodiversity Action Plan
• working with partners across Oxfordshire to enable nature’s recovery through our role as Responsible Authority for the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and through wider partnership working. 

Download the Oxfordshire County Council Biodiversity Action Framework 2025-2030 (pdf format, 800 Kb)

Biodiversity report

A report has been prepared to set out how we are fulfilling our duty to further the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity, in line with the reporting requirements of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

The report includes:

• a summary of the action we have taken to comply with the biodiversity duty
• how we plan to comply with the biodiversity duty in the next reporting period
• the actions we have carried out to meet biodiversity net gain obligations
• details of biodiversity net gains resulting from the biodiversity gain plans we have approved
• how we plan to meet biodiversity net gain obligations in the next reporting period.

Download the Biodiversity Action at Oxfordshire County Council report (pdf format, 750 Kb)

Meeting our biodiversity duty

The council has a duty under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 to further the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity, which was strengthened by the Environment Act in 2021.

To ensure we are complying with the requirements of this duty, we have undertaken the following steps:

Supporting documents and guidance

• Initial Considerations Report (pdf format, 750 Kb)
• Complying with the biodiversity duty - GOV.UK
• Reporting your biodiversity duty actions - GOV.UK