Category Archives: Biodiversity
Manage Protected Areas Outside and In to Safeguard Biodiversity
A new study, published online by Nature this week, has concluded that managing the areas surrounded protected sites is as important as regulating the activities that take place inside, if biodiversity in tropical forest areas is to be conserved. The … Continue reading
Moving Forward with the NEWP – One Year On
Secretary of State at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Caroline Spelman MP, announced yesterday that the Government would make £750,000 of extra funding available to create additional Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs). Those NIAs that were not successful … Continue reading
The first year of the Natural Environment White Paper: an evaluation by Wildlife and Countryside Link
The Natural Environment White Paper (The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature, NEWP) was published a year ago in June. The White Paper set out four ambitions to achieve a healthy natural environment to be the foundation of green … Continue reading
Study shows biodiversity value of 'Green Infrastructure'
Last year’s Natural Environment White Paper called for the creation of ‘green infrastructure’ as a tool to conserve and enhance biodiversity in the UK. Defining what this would entail, the report concluded that in addition to the conservation of existing … Continue reading
New UK National Biodiversity Committee Formed
A new National Biodiversity Committee has been formed to represent biodiversity science in the UK. The British Ecological Society hosted a meeting in November last year, with representatives from across the breadth of ecological science and environmental policy, at which … Continue reading
Contribute to the work of the IPBES
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is currently advertising opportunities to inform the development of the initiative’s work. Ecologists can contribute to discussions on the priorities for IPBES and are also invited to put themselves forward … Continue reading
Investing in Peatlands – Demonstrating Success
This week ecologists from across the UK, Europe and from as far away as Tibet descended upon Bangor University to consider the major challenges and opportunities facing the restoration and conservation of the globe’s peatlands. The meeting was organised jointly … Continue reading
Sowing the Seeds of Biodiversity Conservation
The agriculture industry depends on about 150 crops grown on a significant scale worldwide. This, obviously, is not very many. Preserving them all, and more, is integral to a functioning ecosystem. Each crop plays a vital role in our delicate … Continue reading
Despite rising temperatures distribution of some warmth-loving butterflies is shrinking in the UK
It is often said that there are winners and losers of climate change and warmth-loving species are expected to appear on the winner side. A new study was published in Global Change Biology this week that found it otherwise. The … Continue reading
First occurrence of ‘ash dieback’ in Britain
A fungal disease caused by Chalara fraxinea was found for the first time in a nursery in South East England. The disease is widespread on the Continent and can kill ash trees. The nursery imported 2,000 ash trees from the … Continue reading