The BES Policy Team is now on holiday until 5th September and the blog will return then.

The value of ecosystem services provided by the UK’s wildlife and habitats has been estimated in two research reports published by Defra today. These two primary valuation research studies examine benefits people obtain from the natural environment in the UK.

Using expert judgement and participatory valuation approaches, the study ‘Economic valuation of the benefits of ecosystem services delivered by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan’ estimated the value of seven ecosystem services delivered by different UK BAP habitats and the changes in provision of these services through biodiversity conservation measures over the next 20 years.

The report on ‘The Benefits of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in England and Wales’ assessed the economic value of changes in biodiversity and associated ecosystem services which will result from future policy scenarios for Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).

The reports estimate the wildlife covered by the UK BAP and Sites of Special Scientific Interest is worth approximately £1.5 billion per year to the UK.

Story taken from the Natural Capital Initiative website.

Today the BES has published our report of the Conservation Ecology Special Interest Group’s meeting into ‘Making Space for Nature’, examining the ecological issues raised by the Lawton Review, and other current topics in nature conservation.

Main points raised by the lively discussion and presentations during the day include the need for academic and applied ecologists to communicate with one another in order to develop new tools which can inform conservation planning and practical delivery. Communication between ecologists, policy-makers and the public is also fundamentally important; communicating with decision-makers is an area in which the skills of ecologists is lacking, according to a recent report by the IEEM. The report also highlights discussion at the workshop around possible tensions between a landscape-scale approach to conservation and a species-focused approach. Whilst an emphasis on ecosystem services can engage policy-makers, the public’s interest in the natural world is motivated by species (hence the 8 million-plus members of Wildlife and Countryside Link organisations). Conservationists should not forget this if wishing to engage people beyond those already involved with NGOs, as volunteer recorders and in monitoring for example, and in aiming to empower further those who are engaged, so that they can influence decision-makers.

The report includes summaries of presentations by Prof. Sir John Lawton- discussing the main findings of the Lawton Review; Dr Pete Brotherton- discussing what the Lawton Review’s conclusions might mean for Natural England and others moving forwards; Prof. Chris Thomas – highlighting a new tool he and others have developed to identify those species most at risk, and most in need of direct conservation action, in the face of climate change; Dr Paul Dolman- discussing potential shortcomings in the Biodiversity Action Plan and the need to develop a new approach to conservation based on species’ common functional requirements (so-called ‘guilds’); and Debbie Tann – discussing the work of the Wildlife Trusts in the context of their ‘Living Landscape‘ Approach. All of these presentations are available to download from the BES website.

The meeting on which the report is based was held on the 19th April this year, at the BES’s headquarters, Charles Darwin House.

Defra today published the Government’s new strategy for biodiversity, ‘Biodiversity 2020: A Strategy for England’s Wildife and Ecosystem Services‘. The BES Policy Team has been reading through the document today but we’ve so far only managed to get through half of this. We’re therefore posting up initial details of the Strategy and a more in-depth analysis will follow next week.

The new England Biodiversity Strategy sets out the direction for biodiversity policy for the next decade, on land (including freshwaters) and at sea. The Government’s mission, stated in the document, is to “halt overall biodiversity loss, support healthy, well-functioning ecosystems and establish coherent ecological networks, with more and better places for nature for the benefit of wildlife and people.” In her introduction to the document, the Secretary of State, Caroline Spelman MP, also states that the Government’s longer term ambition is to “move progressively from a position of net biodiversity loss to net gain.” The Government are clear that they think the England Biodiversity Strategy “seeks to deliver a real step change” in biodiversity conservation.

From our initial read of the document, it isn’t clear whether the contents of the document match this ambitious objective; we hope to be able to provide more of an insight into this next week. What does seem apparent is that much of the document draws directly from, rather than building upon, the Natural Environment White Paper (NEWP), launched in June. Some of the content does seem new, but many NGOs in the environment sector criticised the NEWP for a lack of detail about how the objectives within it would be delivered. We’d be interested in your views on whether you think the Biodiversity Strategy makes delivery any clearer.

Defra divides the main areas for action into four headings: A more integrated, large-scale approach to conservation on land and at sea; Putting people at the heart of biodiversity policy; Reducing environmental pressures; and, Improving our knowledge. These draw on the five strategic goals to result from outcomes at the 2010 COP-10 negotiations on the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan (to which this document is the Government’s direct response). Under each of these headlines, a number of ‘Priority Actions’ are outlined. In addition to the mission statements introduced by Ms Spelman in the document’s introduction, Chapter One of the Strategy explicitly states that these priority actions are together intended to provide ‘better, more, bigger and joined’ sites for nature; hereby directly drawing upon the Lawton Review of England’s wildlife network (read a summary of this on the blog).

1. Integrated Approach
- The development of 12 Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs) through a national competition, with £7.5 million in support provided by Defra between 2011- 2015.
- An increase in the proportion of SSSIs in ‘favourable’ condition (currently, according to the latest analysis by Natural England, this stands at 36.5%)
- An ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas by 2016 (UK is already obligated to provide this under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive)
- Agreeing a programme of targeted action with partners for the recovery of priority species
2. Putting people at the heart of biodiversity policy
- Getting more children learning outdoors, removing the barriers which prevent schools from taking children outside the classroom
- A new green areas designation so that communities can protect areas of green space of importance to them
- Helping people to ‘do the right thing’, by facilitating them to make sustainable choices – for example, through wildlife gardening
- Better accounting for biodiversity through the development of ‘new and innovative finance mechanisms’ (draws on the Ecosystem Markets Taskforce, announced in the NEWP, which is business-led and will report to Government in 2012-13 on the potential to develop new markets for green goods and services, and on the initiatives to facilitate Payments for Ecosystem Services schemes, also announced in the NEWP).
3. Reducing Environmental Pressures
- Defra announces its intention to work with a number of different sectors, encouraging them to reduce the pressure they place on biodiversity (agriculture, forestry, planning and development, water, marine, fisheries). There is also a section on tackling the impacts of pollution and invasive species.
4. Improving our knowledge
- Improving access to knowledge through the sharing of data and clear communication of evidence.
- £5 million over three years to support volunteer recording groups and those organisations that support them at national and local level, and the National Biodiversity Network.
- £1.2 million to support data sharing (a new fund for biodiversity recording in the voluntary sector). In partnership with volunteer groups, the Government will develop a ‘new and innovative approach to biodiversity recording’.
- Government will also launch three area-based pilots to trial new approaches to wildlife recording, data sharing and interpretation services to better meet local and national needs.
- There will be a follow-up phase to the National Ecosystem Assessment, developing practical tools for decision-makers and expanding on the ’societal response options’ chapter (examining the mix of future actions most likely to secure best overall value from ecosystems, for nature and for people).

There is nothing in the Executive Summary at least about support from Defra for long-term monitoring, in particular the Countryside Survey. Support for research and data-gathering seems to focus on facilitating volunteer effort, as part of the Big Society. This could be elsewhere in the document, but a brief search through the rest of the text failed to pick up these terms.

Further analysis will follow, but it is worth posing two initial questions here, which occurred to us when reading through. It doesn’t always seem clear in the document which of the actions will be the ultimate responsibility of Government and which will fall to the conservation sector and wider civil society. The document alludes to the ‘biodiversity partnership’ in a number of places, by which it means Government, NGOs, community groups, industry and business. The document does occassionally make explicit those areas where the ‘biodiversity partnership’ is expected to lead, for example in a section under ‘putting people at the heart of biodiversity policy’, the Strategy states that “Government will contribute…by helping the facilitate the sector in this role and creating the conditions whereby people are empowered to make a difference.” Elsewhere it isn’t always clear when ‘we’ means the Government and ‘we’ could mean the wider environmental community.

Secondly, despite the upbeat tone of the document in relation to planning and development, the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework, as currently drated, does not reflect the sentiments outlined here or in the NEWP. A Priority Action within today’s Strategy specifically states that a ’strategic approach to planning for nature within and across local areas’ will be taken, which will ‘guide development to the best locations; encourage green design and; enable development to enhance natural networks’. The document also states that the NEWP sets out the Government position on planning for the natural environment. As drafted, the NPPF makes only brief mention of ecologically coherent networks and the need to take the environment into account is undermined by the ‘presumption towards sustainable development’ which runs throughout the draft Framework. ‘Significant’ weight is to be given by local authorities to economic growth, whilst the environment is given ‘great weight’; a subtle, but very important distinction. It is not enough that the NEWP be the Government’s position on planning and the natural environment as in all liklihood local authorities will only see, and pay heed to the NPPF. The economy must not be weighted above all else in the NPPF, and the environment must be given due consideration within the document. With the NPPF, the Government has the opportunity to translate the commitments in the NEWP and in the Biodiversity Strategy into positive action on the ground; a clear example of where ‘joined up Government’ is necessary.

We’d welcome your views on the England Biodiversity Strategy as these, and any comments on the NPPF and how these documents relate to the NEWP, will inform our response to a current Select Committee inquiry into the Natural Environment White Paper.

The Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) is calling for the appointment of a Science Minister at the Scottish Government.

Outlining the rationale for this post, CaSE state that “Science and engineering has an impact, and is affected by a huge range of government activities – so a failure to adequately represent them could lead to Scotland falling behind in the global high-tech race.”

CaSE has written a letter to First Minister Alex Salmond MSP, asking that the SNP Government create a Science Minister role, which, importantly, is not tokenistic but has real power to influence decision-making.

An article on the CaSE blog outlines the current state of science and higher education in Scotland, the challenges the country faces in this regard, and how the absence of a Science Minister compares to the situation in other nations.

CaSE is looking for support from individuals and organisations for its call. Contact the CaSE Director for more information.

A new initiative from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank will supply commercial seed companies with large amounts of high quality wildflower seed, to help in the restoration of flower-rich meadows. Only 2% of this habitat now remains in England and Wales, with 98% lost since the Second World War. The UK Native Seed Hub project will draw on the large collection of wildflower seed held by the Seed Bank.

Speaking to the BBC, Stephanie Miles, in charge of the project, explained that “commercial growers lack a good, reliable source of UK single species seed”. At present, commercial companies are often unable to provide seed which is genetically adapted to the site of restoration. Stephanie Miles commented that this project would result in the “bulking up” of seed available to support restoration projects in the UK. Plants will initially be grown in temporary seed production beds before being moved to large, permanent seed beds from where seed can be harvested.

The project is being funded by a £750,000 grant from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. The first restoration project to benefit from the seed will be in West Sussex, as a collaborative project between Kew and the High Weald Landscape Trust. Following the focus on meadows, the Millennium Seed Bank will expand the project to encompass 40 other habitat types, including lowland heathland and chalk grassland.

Read more in the Guardian, on the BBC News website and listen to a feature on this story on the Today Programme.

The fifth in a series of ESRC-funded seminars on biosecurity is taking place at Birkbeck College, University of London, on 22-23 September 2011. ‘The Future of Biosecurity and Biosecuring the Future’ will bring together speakers, discussion panels, exhibition and film to consider:

- what is the future for biosecurity, and what will future biosecurity practices and approaches entail?

– Will climate change demand a new paradigm of ecological management through the growing disparity between ‘native’ species and suitable national ecological conditions?

– Will we learn to live with and value ecological change?

– Or will climate change be used to justify greater biosecurity control, as pest species and diseases ever expand their ecological ranges?

The transport and accomodation costs of participants will be covered in full. Initial expressions of interest in attending are now welcome to Dr Sarah Taylor, Keele University.

The creation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was one of the most significant actions to come out of the 10th Conference Of Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity held in Nagoya, Japan. The IPBES is a panel based in part on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It aims to amalgamate evidence for future biodiversity policy, and is expected to become a focal point for public and media awareness of biodiversity issues.

Since its beginnings a number of meetings have been held including a key workshop between Defra and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) in July 2011. The workshop explored how best to engage government with science-policy and coordinate UK Government, scientists, NGO’s and business.

The BES is also holding a session on the IPBES at the BES Annual Meting in Sheffield entitled ‘Where next for the UK National Ecosystem Assessment and IPBES?’ on Tuesday 13th September at 11.15am. To attend the Annual Meeting and book a place at the session visit the BES website.

Such events are in preparation for the first international plenary of the IPBES due to be held in Nairobi, Kenya in October 2011. At the plenary government representatives will consider the draft principles and procedures governing the work of IPBES, the initial elements of the work program, processes for nomination and selection of host institution(s) and host country for the platform.

Scottish government has announched that eight surveys covering 2,200 square miles will be conducted in Scottish waters in order to collect information on its marine biodiversity. The surveys are in collaboration with Marine Scotland and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and will utilise video and acoustic recordings to create underwater maps and improve understanding of marine species and habitats found in Scotland.

The findings will be used to inform future plans for the designation of effective Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s), as well as provide further information on fish stocks and potential sites for renewable energy.

Richard Lochhead MSP Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment said of the new study; “Scotland’s seas provide rich marine habitats and a stunning array of biodiversity. Our waters are home to some of the world’s most precious wildlife, therefore it’s critical that we further our knowledge as much as we can”.

Booking is now open for the IEEM Annual Conference, which will take place from 2 – 3 November 2011, in Liverpool. The theme of the meeting is ‘rebuilding biodiversity’ and sessions will cover the strategic and practical approaches to conserving and rebuilding biodiversity in the UK.

The conference will paint the ‘European picture’; examine current biodiversity conservation tools available (including biodiversity offsetting); consider the evidence base for priority actions (biodiversity auditing as well as recent climate change research); and feature practical case studies (small and large scale) in the terrestrial and aquatic sectors.

This conference will appeal to all ecologists and environmental managers working in either the public or private sector.

To view the full conference programme, get further details and to book your place, please visit the conference website.