Reptiles and Rocks top the 'Conservation League Table',
while River Life and Uplands head for relegation
Government nature referees show the red card to poor
performers, with extra time not an option.
Landmark publication for the
UK details the current winners and losers in the nature
conservation world.
15 June 2006
UK Nature advisers the Joint Nature Conservation Committee
(JNCC) this week released the current ‘league table’ for how well,
or badly, our species, habitats and geological features are
performing in relation to the 2010 biodiversity conservation
target. It shows that the European goal, to halt the loss of
biodiversity by 2010, is ambitious but for some habitat and species
groups, achievable.
The
table is part of the
Common Standards Monitoring for Designated
Sites: First Six Year Report published this week. It
assesses the
species,
habitats and
geology on over 6,000 of the UK’s protected
areas, in particular the Sites of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSIs) – the jewels in the UK’s nature conservation crown.
Around 13,000 assessments, covering 630 features have been made in
the past six years. While this falls short of the 22-23,000
assessments intended, it still represents the most comprehensive
assessment of designated features ever undertaken. It is a
landmark publication for nature conservation in the UK.
Reptiles are the top performers, however there is a need for
caution. Dr James Williams, Reporting and Standards Manager
at JNCC advised: “the score for reptiles comes from just four
assessments, and it is unreasonable to expect that this will give
an accurate picture of the actual state of reptiles across the UK,
but it is certainly a good starting point for further work.”
Other features doing well at the top of the league are the
entire range of the UK’s geological features, all seven
classifications of which feature in the ‘Top Ten’. From
volcanic rocks to fossils, minerals to ice age landforms and
sediments, the work put in to the conservation of these features
has certainly paid dividends.
At the other end of the table, and causing concern about
achieving the 2010 biodiversity targets, are many upland features,
and river ecosystems. Grasslands and heathlands that make up a
major part of the upland environment are some considerable way off
making the target percentages needed – on average less than half of
the features in these categories are either in favourable or
recovering condition.
The situation is dire for our freshwater fish, rivers and
streams. This is not necessarily as bad as it seems, notes
James Williams: “The condition of rivers is much better than it has
been, but more needs to be done to tackle sources of diffuse
pollution. This may well be an area for attention in assisting
these features to head in the right direction. Overall efforts
should certainly be directed towards unfavourable features which
are not showing recovery, so the table helps the conservation
community determine its priorities.”
Paul Rose, Head of
Biodiversity Information Services, JNCC, noted “These figures do
speak for themselves, and we hope they will assist in the debate on
how to ensure the UK meets as many of its biodiversity targets for
2010 as possible – and at worst to ensure that all categories are
at least ‘mid-table contenders’ when the final table is
produced.”
Paul Rose noted: “The JNCC website is now the one-stop source
for
wildlife statistics (
www.jncc.gov.uk/wildlifestatistics),
and
UK
summary results of monitoring protected areas. We are
hoping to attract more data holders to share their valuable
information through this mechanism, making the predictions on the
trends in distribution and populations of nearly 5,000 species,
more accurate than anything that has ever come before.”
The launch has already resulted in two more organisations
stepping forward to express their interest in pooling their
data. More are expected to follow as the true scale of what
is possible through this collaboration becomes more widely
realised.
Paul concluded that “We are indebted to so many individuals
and organisations who have made this Barometer possible, and the
more data that is pooled, the more accurate the predictions that
will emerge from it.”
-ENDS-
- Examples of how the UK Nature
Barometer can be used to predict future trends in various
species and habitats – where they will be found in the future given
anticipated changes in climate, land use, pollution levels, etc,
please contact the JNCC Communications Team – call 01733 866839,
or Email
- The Common Standards Monitoring for Designated
Sites: First Six Year Report shows that geological features are
the most favourable (86%), followed by species (68%).
Terrestrial habitats seem to faring poorly with only 39% of
assessments favourable. Marine and coastal habitats (60%) and
freshwater habitats (49%) have fared somewhat better. There
are a large number of features which are recovering from
unfavourable condition. If these are combined with those
which are favourable, terrestrial habitats are more on a par with
marine habitats and species.
The species assessments show considerable variability. Only
four reptile assessments have been reported and it would not be
sensible to place too much reliance on the high rank of this
category. However, birds features are faring well, with
between 73% and 81% in favourable condition. Mammals,
invertebrate and plant features form an intermediate group between
52% and 68% in favourable condition, while, at the other end of the
scale, fish (27%) have a worryingly low proportion of favourable
assessments.
The condition of habitat features was also very variable.
Upland assemblages, rocky shores and sea cliffs fell in the range
70%-87% in favourable condition, while an intermediate group of
habitats, including a number of coastal habitats, blanket bog and
woodland habitats, fell in the range 43%-69% in favourable
condition. Below that were a group of habitats which fared
relatively poorly, including upland and lowland heathlands and
grasslands, lowland raised bogs, and rivers and streams, with
lowland heathlands achieving the worst result at just under
18%.
- The National Biodiversity Network (NBN)
is a co-operative endeavour that is providing an innovative way of
sharing wildlife information in the UK. By providing tools to make
this information accessible in a digitised and exchangeable form
and by providing easy access to the information people need about
wildlife, wise and informed decisions can be made to ensure our
natural environment is diverse, rich and sustainable now and for
future generations.
- The Joint
Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the forum through which
the four country nature conservation agencies – English Nature
(Natural England from October 2006), Scottish Natural Heritage
(SNH), the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) and the Council for
Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC – Northern Ireland) -
deliver their statutory responsibilities for United Kingdom as a
whole and internationally. The Committee consists of
representatives of these agencies, as well as independent
members.
JNCC’s statutory responsibilities, known as the
special functions, contribute to maintaining and enriching
biological diversity, enhancing geological features and sustaining
natural systems.
The special functions, as amended by the Natural Environment
and Rural Communities Act 2006 (with effect from October 2006) are
principally to:
- advise ministers on the
development of policies for, or affecting, nature conservation in
the United Kingdom and internationally;
- provide advice and
knowledge to anyone on nature conservation issues affecting the
United Kingdom and internationally;
- establish common
standards throughout the United Kingdom for the monitoring of
nature conservation and for research into nature conservation and
the analysis of results;
- commission or support
research which the Committee deems relevant to the special
functions.
JNCC was established under statute by the Environmental Protection
Act 1990 and commenced its work in April 1991. Its support unit,
JNCC Support Co, is a company limited by guarantee, allowing the
organisation to, amongst other benefits, employ its own staff and
let its own contracts.
JNCC NEWS RELEASE 0606/01.
For further information please contact:
Communications Team, JNCC
Tel: 01733 866839
Fax: 01733 555948
Email