Cornwall's Biodiversity Action Plan - Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Introduction
It is perhaps fitting that this new volume to Cornwall’s
Biodiversity Action Plan was developed over 2010, the
International Year of Biodiversity. The United Nations (UN)
designated 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity and,
as a result, people all around the world intensified their efforts
to promote the importance of conserving our biodiversity.
Following on from this the UN has launched a new Decade of
Biodiversity from 2011 until 2020. 2011 will also see the launch
of the Natural Environment White Paper, which is the first step
towards new policy for wildlife and the environment.
Cornwall’s Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Volume 4 has been
produced in response to the updated UK BAP lists of habitats
and species 1 produced in 2007, the UK strategic biodiversity
framework 2 and the Lawton Review 3 . The Cornwall Biodiversity
Initiative (CBI) has produced a new Cornish BAP habitat and
species list (Appendix 1 and www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/
bap) which includes the relevant habitats and species from the
updated UK list.
This volume is very short in comparison to Cornwall’s BAP
Volume 3. This is because there has been a shift in focus of
conservation priorities, which is not just a local view, it is also
occurring throughout the country. This BAP Volume 4 highlights
priority projects where conservation effort should be directed
within the next 5 years. There are no long lists of targets and
actions which are difficult to record against. Instead targets are
set for Cornwall, and priority projects are summarised and
lead partners assigned. It will then be part of each project
development stage to develop SMART (Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Realistic and Time-constrained) targets that can
be reported on within BARS (Biodiversity Action Reporting
System) 4 .
This new broader, habitat based approach will allow effective
action planning and reporting without significantly adding to
BAP bureaucracy. By shifting the emphasis to habitat-based
work these projects will achieve habitat targets as well as
benefit those species less suited to very narrowly focused
recovery work.
The CBI is of course bound by limits on the budget and
resources that we can muster in these difficult times, but
nonetheless we are confident that we can achieve a lot by
working together and planning ahead. The partnership is
confident that with this co-ordinated approach we will be
able to build on all the good work undertaken to date and
help reverse the decline that so much of our wildlife has
experienced and to ensure that Cornwall’s wildlife continues
to be an inspiration for future generations.
1 www.ukbap.org.uk/NewPriorityList
2 www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/biodiversity/protectandmanage/framework
3 www.defra.gov.uk/environment/biodiversity/documents/201009space-for-nature.pdf
4 www.ukbap-reporting.org.uk
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