Conservation Covenantsprotecting and enhancing habitats

Why use a Conservation Covenant to protect and enhance habitats?

Many landowners, local authorities, and conservation organisations simply want to protect a much-loved piece of land, restore habitat that has been lost, or leave a legacy that will outlast their own ownership. 

A Conservation Covenant can legally and permanently formalise that commitment so the land's conservation value cannot be undone by a future sale, change of use, or change of heart by a future owner. It can be entered into voluntarily and tailored entirely to your goals, whether that's protecting a wildflower meadow, restoring a wetland, safeguarding ancient woodland, or managing land for species recovery. 

A Conservation Covenant for habitat protection typically helps with: 

• Turning a personal or organisational commitment to nature into a legally enforceable, permanent one 
• Protecting land from being built on, ploughed up, or otherwise degraded by future owners 
• Formalising partnership or co-management arrangements with a conservation organisation 
• Supporting charitable or altruistic conservation goals without requiring land sale or acquisition 
• Combining habitat protection with other outcomes — BNG, carbon, or nutrient mitigation — where relevant 

Who this applies to

• Landowners — protecting land you own for the long term, for its own sake 
• Local authorities — securing long-term stewardship of council-owned green space and estates 
• Wildlife Trusts & conservation organisations — protecting more land without the cost of acquisition