Natural Assets Group
The Natural Assets group brings together technical expertise to guide nature recovery across the region.
The Natural Assets group brings together technical expertise to guide nature recovery across the region.
Acting as the TVNP’s technical voice, it ensures decisions and investment are informed by strong evidence and best practices. The group plays a central role in identifying priorities, managing regional risks and aligning action with key strategies including the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). The group supports the development of investable projects that deliver real outcomes for biodiversity, climate and communities.
By connecting ecologists, planners, land managers, experts and academics, the group ensures the Tees Valley’s natural assets are understood, valued and managed long term.
Strategic Lead
Tom Harman
Natural Assets Chair
The Tees Valley Nature Partnership is uniquely positioned to enable nature recovery at a scale and pace that the region urgently needs. As the strategic alliance for the area, the Partnership provides the only space where industry, local authorities, the Combined Authority, and the conservation sector can work together constructively. This collaboration is essential not only for resolving competing pressures but for unlocking shared solutions that enable significant, long‑term environmental and economic gains.
The Partnership is already the incubator for major conservation initiatives, generating projects that would simply not emerge without its cross‑sector leadership. It is uniquely placed to accelerate these efforts, driving nature restoration at landscape scale, empowering communities to shape local environmental priorities, and strengthening the resilience of the Tees Valley economy by ensuring that growth and nature recovery progress hand in hand.
Key Responsibilities:
1.
Providing expert input on habitats, species, and natural capital priorities.
2.
Informing the development and delivery of LNRS.
3.
Identifying opportunities for nature recovery at scale.
4.
Supporting evidence-led decision making and prioritisation.
5.
Advising on the feasibility and impacts of proposed interventions.
6.
Acting as a link between local knowledge, statutory evidence, and delivery partners.
Our aims for this year
Ensure the environmental sector is actively supported and represented within the evolving public health agenda in the Tees Valley. This will include articulating five key evidence bases that demonstrate how access to, and engagement with, nature improves health and wellbeing outcomes.
Identify, document, and promote case studies and exemplar projects from across the Tees Valley that demonstrate the positive impact of nature-based interventions on health and wellbeing. These will be compiled into accessible, evidence-informed materials to influence both policy and practice.
Strengthen communication and coordination across key regional initiatives — particularly TUNN (Tees Urban Nature Network) and GCNE (Green Communities North East). Regular updates will be shared via email and through existing networks to ensure alignment and maximise collective impact.
Measures of success by 2028:
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Creating and managing a regional Natural Assets Risk Register.
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Local ecological priorities influencing regional policy or investment frameworks.
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Publication of an annual Natural Asset Report through TVNP.
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Development of a number of investable nature recovery projects.
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Evidence of cross-sector collaboration and improved ecological data sharing across the region.
Become a member of the Natural Assets Group
Membership of the Natural Assets Group is open to professionals, practitioners, and partners committed to advancing nature recovery within the Tees Valley.
All participants are required to be members of the Tees Valley Nature Partnership (TVNP) to ensure shared accountability and alignment with the partnership’s wider strategic goals.