|
Download a copy of the SW
Biodiversity Implementation Plan here
The SW Biodiversity Implementation
Plan (BIP) was launched in July 2004 by the SW Regional Biodiversity
Partnership. Biodiversity is a major contributor to the quality
of life for people in the South West as well as a significant asset
to the economy e.g. as an attraction for tourists.
The SW BIP sets out a framework of policy,
priorities and actions to assist in a more joined up approach to
biodiversity delivery. It updates those actions included in the
SWBAP. The BIP is a contribution to the ‘Biodiversity
Strategy for England’ and seeks to contribute to regional
strategies, plans and policies such as the Regional Spatial Strategy
and regional agri-environment scheme targeting.
The BIP identifies key programmes of work,
both for those directly involved and for those who can enable these,
under five specific sectors:
- Farming and Food
- Water and Wetlands
- Woodlands and Forestry
- Towns, Cities and Development
- Coastal and Marine Environment
The
vision for each of the sectors
Farming and Food:
A farming community which is able to provide excellence in managing
semi-natural habitats that are dependant on farming and also provides
enhanced conditions for the maintenance and return of biodiversity
to arable land and improved grassland.
Water and Wetlands:
Healthy and biologically rich rivers, lakes and wetlands in a landscape
managed for the sustainable use of water. This means taking an integrated
approach to land and water management, with active support from
local communities, recognising and benefiting from the social, economic
and environmental gains.
Woodland and Forestry:
Woodlands and forests managed and created to enhance both woodland
and non-woodland habitats and species populations, which at the
same time provide sustainable goods, environmental services and
recreational benefits
enhancing people’s quality of life.
Towns, Cities and Development:
Nature conservation to be fully incorporated in the new, more spatially
oriented, land-use planning system. All towns and cities to maximise
the contribution areas of natural green space make to biodiversity,
thereby enhancing the quality of life of urban residents, workers
and visitors. Gardens to be valued as biodiversity resources in
their own right.
Coastal and Marine Environment:
Biologically diverse, clean, healthy and productive coasts and seas,
which reconcile human needs with the conservation and restoration
of wildlife habitats, as far as possible through natural processes.
Generic
Priorities
The generic priorities across the sectors are as follows (These
priorities are compatible with those highlighted in the South West
Environment Strategy) :
1 Maintain and enhance biodiversity by:
-sensitively managing existing habitats,
-expanding and re-establishing links between fragmented sites and,
- where appropriate, managing at a larger, functional scale (landscape,
ecosystem or catchment).
2 Develop integrated sustainable land management practices –
that safeguard and enhance the region’s biodiversity whilst
also bringing benefits to society, the economy and environment.
3 Increase awareness and understanding of the importance of biodiversity
to the region’s health, quality of life and economic productivity
and develop wider support and active engagement.
4 Understand and manage the dynamic processes of change (e.g.
climate change) and develop long-term sustainable approaches within
the region that focus on the quality, extent and diversity of habitats.
|
