Parrish noted that many BNG habitats are still being designed using climatic and environmental assumptions that may no longer be valid by 2050.  

With temperatures rising, heatwaves becoming more frequent and storms becoming more intense in the UK, she stressed that long-term climate projections must inform habitat design and management decisions.  

Climate change is not “just another tick-box on your environmental impact assessment”, Parrish said. Rather, “it needs to be integrated into the way we design BNG”. 

The session focused on Resilient by Nature, a report issued in March 2026 by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management with Mott MacDonald’s support. Baker and Toy were among the authors of this guide to integrating climate resilience with BNG plans. 

The speakers provided an overview of the four-step process it recommends to ensure that a BNG habitat remains functional throughout its lifetime. 

The first step is to establish a climate baseline for the site, as well as future baselines, to help gauge how the climate might change over time at the site in question. This can start with qualitative high-level climate information as well as more detailed data and location-specific projections to better understand long-term trends in temperature, rainfall and extreme-weather risks. The goal is to support habitat and infrastructure design decisions with robust information from the outset.

The next step is to identify how projected conditions could affect the BNG habitat over 30 years. This should consider chronic risks, such as gradual increases in temperature or drought stress, along with acute risks, such as the likelihood of heatwaves and storms. Hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters can both cause significant habitat degradation.

The third step is to embed climate resilience throughout the habitat’s life, from design and establishment to long-term management and monitoring. This could include introducing species that are better suited to the projected future climate, making it easier for wildlife to move between habitats and changing how a habitat is managed if conditions render the original plan ineffective.

The final step looks at what advantages resilient BNG can offer beyond the habitat itself. Well-designed BNG measures can provide co-benefits ranging from urban cooling and carbon sequestration to natural flood management and improvements to the wellbeing of local people. 

The forum’s overriding message was that all projects – from small local developments to NSIPs – must properly account for climate change when designing, building and maintaining BNG habitats. Only then will they give themselves the best chance of delivering their required biodiversity gains over the long term.

The ICE holds three Resilience Community Forums a year to discuss ways to make infrastructure systems more resilient. Covering topics ranging from climate adaptation finance to sustainable drainage systems, these sessions highlight best practice in integrating resilience and nature in the planning, delivery and maintenance of infrastructure. For information about future forums, email billie.donovan@ice.org.uk  

• Billie Donovan is climate knowledge specialist at the ICE 

• Image credit: Shutterstock/Richard Whitcombe