IEEM 2011 Annual Conference: Rebuilding Biodiversity

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1 IEEM 2011 Annual Conference: Rebuilding Biodiversity Implementing new biodiversity policies to deliver biodiversity gains Dr David Parker FIEEM, Director Evidence and Advice & Chief Scientist, Countryside Council for Wales

2 The Welsh Natural Environment Framework Living Wales NEF Purpose (1) To ensure Wales has increasingly resilient and diverse ecosystems that are managed to optimise environmental, economic and social benefits - this requires delivery from all levels of Government and society, building on the ecosystems we have, but answering questions such as: do we have the ecosystems we want or need?

3 The delivery of an ecosystem approach to environmental management Not a new idea: it was first defined by the United Nations, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 as: A strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in a equitable way

4 Supporting Services Biodiversity: all organisms Geodiversity: bedrock, land forms & physical attributes Ecological processes Physical processes Provisioning Services Food Natural Materials Raw materials Water Air Energy Genetic resources Ornamental goods Evolutionary processes Regulating Services Air quality regulation Water quantity regulation Water quality regulation Biohazard regulation Geohazard regulation Soil management Climate regulation Cultural services Meaningful local places Socially valued landscapes Mental & physical health Cultural heritage Recreation, leisure & tourism Education & inspiration Spiritual and religious values

5 The Welsh Natural Environment Framework Living Wales NEF Purpose (2) To ensure that the Supporting Services of Welsh ecosystems are not compromised by the drawing out of Provisioning, Regulating and Cultural ecosystem services We have been working to develop the evidence base to support the delivery of an ecosystem approach to environmental management and climate change adaptation in Wales

6 Biodiversity Mapping in Wales Planning for the Future All maps in this presentation Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Countryside Council for Wales, [2007].

7 The Three Levels 1. Maps of the whole ecosystem resource habitat area and connectivity 2. Priority areas for conservation action 3. Critical sites where significant biodiversity loss is imminent, and exemplar projects

8 11 Heathland Priority Mapping Level 1

9 Broadleaved Woodland South Wales 20 km

10 Broadleaved Woodland Ecosystems, South Wales 20 km

11 Prioritising Broadleaved Woodland Areas, South Wales 20 km

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13 Rebuilding biodiversity (1) Maintaining and enhancing biodiversity as a key ecosystem supporting service, eg. microbial and fungal biodiversity in soils which is currently ignored in most biodiversity planning Rebuilding biodiversity through spatial planning: evidence-based choices about ecosystem services, land management and the location of new built development, both land and at sea

14 Rebuilding biodiversity (2) Maintaining existing high biodiversity-value protected areas, especially Natura 2000 and SSSIs, through better management and restoration of the wider countryside and seas Targeted action for sensitive and rarer habitats and species through Local Biodiversity Action Plan delivery and national initiatives Mainstreaming climate change adaptation in all measures and interventions

15 The Natural Environment Framework: next steps Green Paper in January 2012 with four month public consultation Sustainable Development, Planning and Environment Bills in Implementing radical changes in thinking and practice in environmental management across Government and society using an evidence-based and consultative approach