Gloucestershire Biodiversity Partnership

A BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN FOR GLOUCESTERSHIRE

What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity encompasses the whole variety of life on Earth. Not only does it include all species of plants and animals, but also their genetic variation, and the complex ecosystems of which they are part. It is not restricted to rare or threatened species but includes the whole of the natural world from the commonplace to the critically endangered. It includes the plants and animals familiar to all of us in the places where we live or work, wherever that may be

To go directly to a listing of all the original Gloucestershire BAP documentation (dated 2000), in printable pdf format, click here .

Biodiversity in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a highly diverse county ranging from the Wye Valley with its ancient ravine woodlands in the west, to the streams of the Cotswold plateau in the east. The county fits into three key Natural Areas, the acid grassland, bogs, heathland, and ancient woodlands in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley. The Severn Vale and its floodplain which is important for bird-life, especially wintering wildfowl and breeding waders, and the Cotswolds with limestone grasslands and beech woodlands.

Biodiversity in SW England

For additional information on other biodiversity initiatives in SW England click here.

unimproved neutral grassland

Biodiversity Action Plan

Biodiversity Action Plan for Gloucestershire

The aim of the Biodiversity Action Plan for Gloucestershire is to achieve a county richer in wildlife. Habitats and species in Gloucestershire, as in much of the UK, have suffered dramatic declines in recent decades and many once common species are becoming increasingly rare. Some such as the water vole are on the verge of extinction.

A co-ordinated and strategic approach is the only way that we will be able to reverse the decline which so much of our wildlife has experienced. The answer lies in Gloucestershire's Biodiversity Action Plan. A pdf of the introductory sections is available here. For the Habitat and Species Action Plan sections see the links below.

As a direct result of the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 the Government has drawn up a national strategy to conserve our threatened native species and habitats - the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Each county has to prepare a detailed 'Local Biodiversity Action Plan' in order to contribute to this national strategy.

Gloucestershire's Biodiversity Action Plan includes Habitat Action Plans for Ancient Woodlands, Limestone Grassland, Reedbeds, and Open Water habitats and Species Action Plans for farmland birds, bats, arable wildflowers, otters and many other species. It sets objectives and targets and lists the actions required to achieve them in order to guide nature conservation over the coming years. Since Gloucestershire has such a rich natural environment, holding many species and habitats of national and international importance, Gloucestershire's Biodiversity Action Plan is a vital part of the national strategy.

The Biodiversity Project is overseen by a Steering Group of the key organisations and in total, around 60 organisations in the county which are now actively involved in the Biodiversity Action Plan and together form the Biodiversity Partnership. The whole biodiversity initiative depends upon long-term partnership between all the organisations which have an impact on wildlife: from nature conservation organisations, local government, farmers and landowners to businesses, schools and communities.

The plan was launched on the 5th April 2000 at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust new Centre, Slimbridge.

otter

Paper copies of Gloucestershire's Biodiversity Action Plan are no longer available.
To see a listing of all the documentation in pdf format click here.