Natural England Guidance for Defining Favourable Conservation Status in England

Natural England has published its approach and methods for defining favourable
conservation status (FCS) in England for both species and habitats. The document also provides guidance on principles, considerations and methods to use.

Natural England interprets FCS as “the situation in which a habitat or species is thriving throughout its natural range and is expected to continue to thrive into the future.”

The report sets out 12 principles for defining FCS, recognising that not all the principles will be equally applicable to all features and deviations from some principles may be justified based on the character of the habitat or species. This is followed by Natural England’s overall approach, and approach to specific aspects of defining FCS.

The report was published alongside a Technical Information Note on Favourable Conservation Status Definitions (TIN180).