The Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995

Miscellaneous

Nature conservation policy in planning contexts

32.  The Department shall endeavour, where it considers it necessary, in its land use planning and development policies, to encourage the management of features of the landscape which are of major importance for wild fauna and flora.

Such features are those which, by virtue of their linear and continuous structure (such as rivers with their banks or the traditional systems for marking field boundaries) or their function as stepping stones (such as ponds or small woods), are essential for the migration, dispersal and genetic exchange of wild species.