Rushmoor Biodiversity Action Plan - Hampshire County Council

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2Biodiversity Action Plan 20081 Biodiversity: From Rio to Rushmoor1.4 Why do we need to conserve biodiversity?Biodiversity in Rushmoor and throughout the UK has been in decline over the past century. It is importantwe conserve biodiversity to maintain a healthy and strong natural environment, one that has the abilityto provide the direct and indirect benefits described in the section above.According to the Department of Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) over the past 100 years the UK haslost over 100 species of animals and plants and a similar trend is occurring around the world at differentrates. This level of extinction is much higher than the rate expected by natural processes (MillenniumEcosystem Assessment).In Rushmoor, extinctions have been observed on a local level, especially over the past fifty years asdevelopment in the towns of Farnborough and Aldershot has grown, resulting in dramatic changes tothe local landscape.Marsh Fritillary ButterflyCommon in Rushmoor in the 1980's the specieshas declined rapidly since and has not beenrecorded in the borough since 1991.Biodiversity is integral in many processes that support human life and it can also help mitigate againstextreme weather patterns, which are becoming more frequent due to climate change.By conserving biodiversity we will not only maintain a healthy and interesting landscape for ourselvesand future generations to enjoy, but we will also be conserving the potential to find new solutions tomedical and other problems.
Biodiversity Action Plan 2008Biodiversity: From Rio to Rushmoor 131.5 What are the main threats to biodiversity?There are a number of key factors that have detrimental effects on the level of biodiversity in this area,most are related to human activities.The top four threats identified are development, pollution, inappropriate land management and climatechange.DEVELOPMENTDevelopment poses a large threat to biodiversity through direct loss ofhabitats and indirectly through habitat fragmentation and the additionalimpacts of a development throughout its lifetime on the surroundingenvironment e.g. changes and demands on natural water systems andpressures from increased traffic and other related infrastructure. Rushmooris positioned within easy access of London; this puts a large developmentpressure on the area for housing, infrastructure and recreation.The increased impact on natural resources from a development are not onlyfrom the material required for the construction phase, but also their demandfor energy and water once the development is active. Impacts on surroundinghabitats also need to be considered as changes in light, wind, drainage andusage of these habitats can affect the type and amount of different speciesable to survive there.It is important that in setting out actions to improve biodiversity within the borough, we are mindfulto reduce our negative impact on the biodiversity of other areas.ACTION: Ensure the council Development Control and Planning Policy departments includebiodiversity as a priority in all development plans and applications.POLLUTIONAir, water, light and noise pollution can all impact on biodiversity, changing local the features andspecies found in different habitats. Different types of pollution can affect different species andhabitats in different ways, e.g. light pollution can delay emergence time for bats, reducing the amountof time they have to forage insects, it can also affect natural mating and foraging behaviour in birds.Pollution can come from many different sources and activities and it is important to identify whererisks of pollution are most likely and to reduce the negative impact on local wildlife.
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Rushmoor Biodiversity Action Plan - Hampshire County Council

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