creating environmental improvements through biodiversity

Sustainable Aggregates Creating Environmental Improvements through Biodiversity
This report, therefore, focuses on the benefits for biodiversity that can be achieved through mineral site
restoration.
Bate et al. (1998) was one of the earliest reports to highlight the potential for the minerals industry to
contribute to UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) targets. This pulled together sources of information and
useful contacts for stakeholders. It made a series of recommendations, many of which are still relevant today,
and some of which have since been put into practice. Recommendations included that Local Biodiversity
Action Plan (LBAP) authors pay more attention to the potential role of the minerals industry in delivering
towards BAP targets, and that the BAP and LBAP process should involve partnerships and communication
within and between organisations and communities. Linking to LBAPs is still a key means of identifying local
priorities. However LBAPs are variable and often lack a spatial dimension - this makes working closely with
LBAP coordinators even more important.
What is a habitat creation end-use?
With nature conservation considered under the broader category of ‘amenity’ in central mineral planning
guidance (Mineral Planning Guidance 7), restorations carried out under this heading are of variable quality
and benefit for wildlife. In many cases, generic ‘nature conservation’ end-uses represent a missed opportunity
Figure 1: Habitat on a restored minerals site
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