Root Cause Analysis for the North Devon Landscape Pioneer (NECR291)

The 25 Year Environment Plan (HM Government, 2018) aims to improve the state of the environment within one generation. The North Devon Landscape Pioneer was one of four pioneers tasked with testing and trialling new approaches set out within the 25 YEP.
This report forms part of the natural capital process trialled by the landscape pioneer. The aim of this process was to create a strategy for North Devon which enabled environmental, institutional and financial innovation by using natural capital and participatory approaches.
This report uses an innovative approach to present the multiple causes of environmental problems in North Devon using a visual method.
Root Cause Analysis maps demonstrate the causes of problems and the links between them. Individual causes are shown within a strategic picture of the system leading to the problem. The root cause maps allow the pinpointing of interventions which treat the priority problems strategically. The maps were created by the project team and partners in North Devon.
The evidence and interventions within this report are discussed in the Natural England Research Report Number 083 – A Natural Capital Strategy for North Devon – along with the whole natural capital process trialled by the landscape pioneer.