Catalogue description Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESL Series)

Environmentally Sensitive Areas were designated under powers given to the Secretary of State in the Agriculture Act 1986. Work to establish Environmentally Sensitive Areas began in 1987 and was done by an Environment Task Force Division, this lead to a split in the Environmental and Conservation Policy Division in 1988 to form a separate Conservation Policy Division who took on responsibility for managing Environmentally Sensitive Areas and later for implementing various EC and EU directives such as biodiversity and the integration of environmental policy with CAP [the Common Agricultural Policy]. In 1995 Conservation Policy Division became Conservation and Woodlands Policy Division.

A second Environment Task Force was created in 1991 to co-ordinate the environmental aspects of CAP and work relating to new Environmentally Sensitive Areas and this developed into an Environmentally Sensitive Areas Division in 1994. This Division became the Conservation Management Division in 1995 when it took on responsibility for the transfer of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme from the Countryside Commission. The England Rural Development Programme was prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Fisheries in conjunction with its Farming and Rural Conservation Agency and received formal Commission approval in October 2000. Environmentally Sensitive Areas then came under the umbrella of the England Rural Development Programme until Natural England assumed responsibility on its creation in 2006.