UK Biodiversity Action Plan
Biodiversity
Biodiversity encompasses the whole variety and complexity of life on Earth at all scales, including genetics, species, ecosystem and landscape. It does not just include the rare or threatened species but includes the whole of the natural world from the commonplace to the critically endangered.
It is this network of biodiversity that sustains and provides the essentials for human life, however it is the result of human activity that the world is loosing bio-diversity at an ever-increasing rate. On a world scale the rate of loss is now recognised to be a cause for serious concern and requires united action to prevent any continued loss.
In June 1992, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro 159 governments signed the Convention of Biological Diversity. It was the first treaty to provide a legal framework for biodiversity conservation. The treaty called for the creation and enforcement of national strategies and action plans to conserve, protect and enhance biological diversity (Article 6A).
UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP)
The UK government’s response to the Convention of Biological Diversity was Biodiversity: the UK Action Plan, which was launched in January 1994 and outlined the UK Biodiversity Action Plan for dealing for biodiversity conservation. The UK BAP included contributions from government, statutory conservation agencies, the academic world and the voluntary sector. It committed the Government and its agencies to 59 programmes or tasks;
- to conserve species and habitats;
- to develop public awareness and understanding;
- and to contribute to biodiversity work in the European and global context.
UK Biodiversity Steering Group
In order to advise the government on implementation of the new UK BAP a Biodiversity Steering Group was established. This group published Biodiversity: the UK Steering Group Report – meeting the Rio challenge. This established the framework and criteria for identifying species (1252 in number) and habitat types of conservation concern.
From this list, action plans for 391 species and 45 habitats (116 species and 14 habitats in Tranche 1 and the balance in the six volumes of Tranche 2) were eventually published.
In addition to the National priorities and targets action was also taken on a local level through discussions with Local Authority Association and the Local Government Board. The result is 162 Local Biodiversity Action Plants (LBAPS) in England, Scotland and Wales.
The Government Response to the UK Steering Group Report on Biodiversity endorsed the Steering Group’s recommendations and established the UK Biodiversity Group, which replaced the UK Biodiversity Steering Group and was joined by the Biodiversity Information Group, the Targets Group and the Biodiversity Research Working Group all to advise the Government on the UK BAP process.
To measure progress on the 436 action plans a three to five yearly reporting cycle was established.The first in 1999 was the Millennium Biodiversity Report, which not only reported on progress but also made recommendations to government about changes to the UK BAP structure to reflect the evolving responsibilities and progress of the UK BAP. The next reporting was in 2002 and produced UK Biodiversity Action Plan - tracking progress - results of 2002 reporting and the most recent was in 2005 for which the report produced was The UK Biodiversity Action Plan: Highlights from the 2005 reporting round.
A full list of the 45 different Habitat Action Plans can be found here, but the important plan for arable plants is the Cereal Field Margin HAP, the definition of which is as follows:
For the purposes of this Action Plan the term "cereal field margin" refers to strips of land lying between cereal crops and the field boundary, and extending for a limited distance into the crop, which are deliberately managed to create conditions, which benefit key farmland species. They can take a variety of forms, the principal types being:
· A 'Wildlife Strip' 6m wide adjacent to a cereal crop, together with a.1 m 'Sterile Strip' between the wildlife strip and the crop. The wildlife strip is cultivated once a year but not cropped; the Sterile Strip is maintained so as to prevent aggressive arable weeds spreading into the adjacent cereal crop.
· A 'Conservation Headland' either 6m or 12m wide forming the outer margin of the crop and separated from an adjacent field boundary or other vegetation by a.1 m Sterile Strip. The Conservation Headland is cropped with cereals but is managed with reduced inputs of pesticides so as to favour wild arable plants and invertebrates.
· A combined wildlife strip and Conservation Headland separated by a Sterile Strip and managed as described as above.
· Game crops, stubble or grassland fallows lying between annually cropped land and the field boundary.
There are two significant targets for delivering species rich cultivated margins that are key to arable plant conservation:
- Expand the area of cultivated unsprayed field margins (from 8,859 ha in 2005 to 16,346 ha by 2010)
- Achieve favourable condition on an increasing proportion of the resource of cultivated, unsprayed margins (50% by 2010, 75% by 2015)
A full list of the 391 Species Action Plans can be found here, however the 12 important arable plants within the list of vascular plants are as follows:
- Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)
- Red-tipped Cudweed (Filago lutescens)
- Broad-leaved Cudweed (Filago pyramidata)
- Western Ramping-fumitory (Fumaria occidentalis)
- Purple Ramping-fumitory (Fumaria purpurea)
- Red Hemp-nettle (Galeopsis angustifolia)
- Corn Cleavers (Galium tricornutum)
- Shepherd’s-needle (Scandix pecten-veneris)
- Small-flowered Catchfly (Silene gallica)
- Cotswold Pennycress (Thlaspi perfoliatum)
- Spreading Hedge-parsley (Torilis arvensis)
- Broad-fruited Cornsalad (Valerianella rimosa)
The five UK BAP bryophyte (mosses and liverworts) species that are found on arable land are as follows:
- Sausage Beard-moss (Didymodon tomaculosus)
- Starry Earth-moss (Ephemerum stallatum)
- A beardless moss (Weissia multicapsularis)
- Beaked Beardless-moss (Weissia rostellata)
- Spreading-leaved Beardless-moss (Weissia squarrosa)
Most targeting statements for the Higher Level Scheme regard the presence and subsequent conservation of a UK BAP species on farm as meeting a primary target (5 Points). Therefore if any of the above species are known to be on your farm it could help with entry into the scheme.
Three reviews are being conducted by the Biodiversity Reporting & Information Group (BRIG)
1. 2005 UK BAP Reporting Round (duration October 2005 – June 2006)
- 3rd UK BAP reporting round
2. UK BAP Targets Review (duration September 2005 - mid 2006)
- Aim: update existing UK BAP Species and Habitats targets
3. UK BAP Priority & Habitats Review (duration April 2005 – end 2006)
- Aim: ensure the correct species and habitats are listed as UK BAP priorities
