Nature protection and biodiversity - State and impacts (United Kingdom)

The UK has a wide variety of ecosystems and species.  The main factors that lead to this biodiversity are the diversity of geology, landforms and sea floors, the long history of land management, the climatic influence of a prevailing westerly air flow and North Atlantic Drift, and a large tidal range. These factors create:

·         productive and varied seas which harbour globally significant numbers of fish, seabirds and sea mammals;

·         abundant and diverse wildlife along a great length of coastline that comprise high cliffs, expanses of productive estuarine habitats supporting internationally important numbers of wintering waterbirds;  

·         a patchwork mix of land uses, semi natural habitats and settlements in the South and East that include important areas for biodiversity such as heathlands, ancient woods, chalk downland, broads and fens;

·         wet oakwoods in the West, supporting endemic mosses, ferns, lichens and liverworts;

·         large tracts of upland and mountain areas of the North and West that support some relict populations of species surviving from the last Ice Age and extensive peatlands that provide important ‘ecosystem services’ such as water provision, regulation and carbon capture;

·         an intricate web of freshwater habitats including rivers, lochs, freshwater lakes, waterfalls, coastal lagoons, reedbeds etc.

The species within this varied landscape are also diverse but there are relatively few species that are endemic or at high risk of global extinction.  A review of the priority habitats and species listed under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan took place between 2005 and 2007.  It resulted in a revised UK list of 1,150 priority species and 65 habitats (http://www.ukbap.org.uk/NewPriorityList.aspx). 

There are many surveillance and recording schemes currently operated, providing a wealth of biodiversity-related information (see links below and the National Biodiversity Network) and a basis by which trends in, current status of, and threats to, UK biodiversity can be assessed.  For certain groups, systematic survey data spans 30 years or more.  The status, trends, threats and constraints to plan delivery for 371 species and 45 habitats that were originally identified as UK Biodiversity Action Plan priorities have been assessed at three year intervals, most recently in 2008.

Principal Sources of Information on the Status and Trends of UK Biodiversity

Surveillance and Monitoring Schemes

Overview of surveillance and monitoring supported by JNCC - http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-3713

Countryside Survey - http://www.countrysidesurvey.org.uk/

Tracking Mammals partnership results - http://www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/TMP_TMP_update_2008.pdf

Breeding birds - http://www.bto.org/bbs/results/latest_results.htm

Seabirds - http://www.bto.org/birdtrends2007/

Wintering waterbirds - http://www.bto.org/webs/news/AR06_07/index.htm

Butterfly Monitoring Scheme - http://www.ukbms.org/

State of Britain’s Moths - http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/text/39/the_state_of_britains_moths.html

Biological Records Centre (Atlases) – http://www.brc.ac.uk/

UK SeaMap – www.jncc.gov.uk/UKSeaMap  

Marine Climate Change Impacts - www.mccip.org.uk/arc

Climate Change Impacts – http://www.ukcip.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=331&Itemid=9

Common Standards monitoring of protected sites – first six year report - http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-3520

Status Assessments

Vascular Plant red data book - http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1752

Breeding birds in the wider countryside - http://www.bto.org/birdtrends2007/

Wintering waterbird changes in population size - http://www.bto.org/webs/alerts/alerts/

Butterflies - http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/text/64/butterfly_distribution.html and - http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/uploads/sobb2007summary.pdf

Indicators

UK 2010 indicators - http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-4229

The UK has developed a set of indicators (UK Biodiversity Indicators in Your Pocket) to measure performance against the 2010 target.  These biodiversity indicators are discussed in detail in Chapter 4 of the 4^th National UK Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), reviewing UK progress towards the 2010 target and the global goals.  The indicators provide a standardised overview of biodiversity across the UK, and deliver UK obligations to CBD and European reporting.

The indicators show positive outcomes for biodiversity in some areas, for example increases in populations of bats and other priority species, and plant diversity in arable fields.  For other components of biodiversity such as woodland and water birds, butterflies and priority habitats, previous declines have been slowed or halted.  However, the indicators show continuing or accelerating declines in the populations of breeding farmland and seabirds, wintering waterbirds and plant diversity in woodland, grassland and field boundaries.  The 2010 assessment of the 33 measures underpinning the indicators is shown in Table 1. 

Table 1.  Overview of assessment of change for all indicators

Traffic light assessments over the longer term and since 2000, for the 18 indicators and their 33 component measures.  Assessments as at May 2010.

Focal area, indicator number, title and individual measures (where applicable)		Long term change	Change since 2000
Focal area 1. Status and trends of the components of biological diversity
1a. Populations of selected species (birds)	Breeding farmland birds	1970-2008
	Breeding woodland birds	1970-2008
	Breeding water and wetland birds	1975-2008
	Breeding seabirds	1970-2008
	Wintering waterbirds	1975-6 - 2007-8
1b. Populations of selected species (butterflies)	Semi-natural habitat specialists	1976-2009
	Generalist butterflies	1976-2009
1c. Populations of selected species (bats)		1978-1992
2. Plant diversity	Arable and horticultural land	1990-2007
	Woodland and grassland	1990-2007
	Boundary habitats	1990-2007
3. UK priority species
4. UK priority habitats
5. Genetic diversity	Native sheep breeds
	Native cattle breeds
6. Protected areas	Total extent of protected areas	1996-2009
	Condition of A/SSSIs
Focal area 2. Sustainable use
7. Woodland management
8. Agri-environment land	Higher level, targeted schemes	1992-2009
	Entry type schemes
9. Sustainable fisheries		1990-2008
Focal area 3. Threats to biodiversity
10. Impact of air pollution	Acidity	1996-2005
	Nitrogen	1996-2005
11. Invasive species	Freshwater species	1960-2008
	Marine species	1960-2008
	Terrestrial species	1960-2008
12. Spring Index		Not assessed	Not assessed
Focal area 4. Ecosystem integrity and ecosystem goods and services
13. Marine ecosystem integrity		1982-2008
14. Habitat connectivity	Broad-leaved, mixed and yew woodland
	Neutral grassland
15. Biological river quality		1990-2008
Focal area 5. Status of resource transfers and use
16. UK biodiversity expenditure
17. UK global biodiversity expenditure
Focal Area 6. Public awareness and participation
18. Conservation volunteering

	improving     little or no overall change   deteriorating   insufficient or no comparable data

15 measures (46%) show an improvement since 2000, and 9 measures (27%) show improvement over the longer term. 

Each indicator has its own story.  Some of the biological outcomes (e.g. populations of birds and butterflies) have been affected by a series of wet summers, which have reversed previously improving trends.  Other biological outcomes (e.g. plant diversity) are slow to respond and may take many years to show recovery.  For some indicators (e.g. habitat connectivity and condition of protected sites) suitable methods and data are not yet available to make an assessment of the trend.  These aspects need to be taken into account when drawing overall conclusions.

Taken together, it is possible to conclude that the rapid declines in biodiversity in the UK during the last quarter of the 20^th century have been substantially slowed and in some cases halted or reversed, and that efforts to address these declines through spending and public engagement have increased.  Nevertheless, it is fair to say that there is a lot more to do.  The UK Government has developed an ecosystem approach to conservation (see below) to try to improve the delivery of species and habitat conservation.

The pie charts below summarise the whole set of biodiversity indicators, and display the numbers of measures that have shown improvement (green traffic light), deterioration (red traffic light), little or no overall change (amber traffic light) or that have insufficient data for an assessment to be made (white traffic light). Assessments of change over the longer term and since 2000 are shown[1].   

*Based on 33 measures, which make up 17 indicators (1 indicator is not assessed).

The assessments since 2000 generally show marked improvements compared with longer term (i.e. 10-30 year) trends where comparable data exist.