All around us, in our woodlands and hedgerows, our fields and rivers, even in our gardens, countless varieties of birds, plants, insects and other animals live out their lives. This is biodiversity – the richness and endless variety of life on Earth.

The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) process is the UK government’s mechanism by which it will deliver its commitment to the international Convention on the Conservation of Biological Diversity, signed at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992.

It is from this convention that we get the term ‘biodiversity’; the conservation of which places importance on widespread and common habitats and species, as well as the rare, or ‘special’.

For many people involved in nature conservation, the conservation of biodiversity is what we’ve been doing for years, but the BAP process attempts to focus action in a co-ordinated way. It prioritises a number of habitats and species for conservation action; with plans being produced for these, outlining the action required and targets.

One of the key features of the BAP process is that these plans are created and delivered by partnerships of organisations, both governmental and non-governmental, brought together to work to the same plan. Partnerships work both at a national level and at a local level through the production of local BAPs – and local means you and me.

So you see, the conservation of biodiversity is not an issue that is confined to places only seen on the TV - the rainforests of South America, the plains of Africa or the frozen wilderness of Antarctica. It is also about what you can do for wildlife where you live!

Why does it matter?

Biodiversity is at least as important as the other parts of our heritage: historic castles, buildings and monuments, fine art, literature. In many ways it is much more important than any of these because biodiversity underlies our existence.

• It feeds us - plants and animals provide all our food.
  
  
• It clothes us - many of our materials come directly from, or are derived from plants and animals.
  
  
• It cures us - plants are used in medicine and some promise potential cures.
  
  
• It inspires us - think of all the paintings and poems that were inspired by the natural world.
  

No organism exists in isolation from other living things. Individually, each plant and animal has a role to play in the interconnections which make the natural world go round.

A diverse landscape, rich in wildlife, in our towns and cities as well as our countryside, plays an important role in ensuring that our quality of life remains high. It contributes to our physical and mental health and ensures that we remain in touch with the natural world around us. The dawn chorus is free but this is just the sort of benefit that we may only appreciate after it has gone.

Find out more about the National Trust's involvement in Biodiversity Action Plans