How is the Trust involved in Biodiversity Action Plans?

• our involvement
• our contribution

Landowner
As one of the largest land owners in the UK, with c. 250,000 ha, The National Trust has a large proportion of the country’s biodiversity under it’s protection and has a massive opportunity to deliver positive action to conserve biodiversity and contribute to the UK BAP process.  In fact, the Trust has been charged with conserving “…natural aspect features and animal and plant life” since the National Trust Act 1907, which formally established the Trust’s objectives.

Partner
The Trust is already an active partner to the BAP process, both at a national level and locally and is contributing to many targets within it. For example, we own and manage many key sites (see Box 1 below), contributing to many habitat maintenance targets; we have core input to a host of priority habitat plans, are lead partner for 5 priority species (see Box 2 below) and contribute to a number of local BAPs through regional staff.

Biodiversity Officer
The Trust also has a special post part funded by English Nature, dedicated to the BAP process. Core aims of the Biodiversity Officer post are to co-ordinate, facilitate and help publicise the Trust’s contribution to the UKBAP process and related initiatives such as the National Biodiversity Network and exploring data sharing agreements with Local Record Centres and progressing national and regional BAP targets.

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Box 1 - Designated sites including land owned by The National Trust

Source: English Nature, Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Heritage Service and National Trust central Land and Property Data, 2004.

NB. Northern Ireland properties may include some land that is leased in by NT and which is managed but not owned by the Trust.

SAC – Special Area of Conservation
SPA – Special Protection Area
RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands
NNR – National Nature Reserve
SSSI – Site of Special Scientific Interest (England & Wales)
ASSI – Area of Special Scientific Interest (N.Ireland)
MNR – Marine Nature Reserve

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NT Representation on UK BAP Steering Groups
For each of the species and habitats that have been identified as a priority for action in the UKBAP, there is a Steering Group which co-ordinates action. The Trust contributes to many of these groups including Ancient and/or species-rich hedgerows; Cereal field-margins; Chalk rivers; Coastal habitats; Lakes; Limestone pavement; Lowland Grasslands; Lowland Heathland; Lowland Wood –pasture and parkland; Uplands; Wetlands, and Woodlands.

Species include the five listed in Box 2 plus bats; bumblebees; leaf beetles; the Noble Chafer (a beetle); Oblong Woodsia (a fern); dead wood (or saproxylic) beetles; and Southern damselfly.

There is also an overview group for each country - the Trust is represented on each group.

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Our contribution

Examples of how the Trust can and is making a contribution to the UK BAP process
Our land in the Thames and Solent region includes c.800 ha of lowland beech woodland.  Lowland beech and yew wood is a priority habitat under the UKBAP.

The Lowland Beech and Yew Woodland Habitat Action Plan includes targets to:

• Maintain the existing areas of ancient semi-natural lowland beech and yew woodland (estimated to be 15,000 to 25,000 ha) and the total current extent and distribution of the type.
• Initiate restoration to lowland beech and yew cover, at least 1,500 ha… by 2015.

Therefore, if all the 800 ha within the Thames and Solent is maintained, it would contribute 3-5% of the existing area for this habitat. If the same area were restored (hypothetically) it would contribute some 53% to the national restoration target and double the restoration target of 400 ha for the Chilterns Natural Area as determined by the England Native Woodland Partnership.

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The Lowland Heathland Habitat Action Plan includes two key objectives to:

• Maintain, and improve by management, all existing lowland heathland (58,000 ha).
• Encourage the re-establishment by 2005 of a further 6,000 ha of heathland with the emphasis on the counties of Hampshire, Cornwall, Dorset, Surrey, Devon, Staffordshire, Suffolk and Norfolk in England and Pembrokeshire, Glamorgan and west Gwynedd in Wales, particularly where this links separate heathland areas.

Since 1985 the Trust has re-created c.1,228 ha of lowland heath in England and Wales some 20% of the national re-establishment target.  10% of the 6,000 ha target has been achieved on Trust land in Cornwall alone. The Cornwall Biodiversity Action Plan aims to re-establish 1,050 ha of lowland heath in Cornwall, so the Trust is also making a substantial contribution to the local BAP target.

It is this kind of information the Trust is beginning to gather in order to report our progress towards BAP targets, locally and nationally. Both examples illustrate the great contribution we can make to the process.

For more information on the UKBAP or to view national plans, visit the UK Biodiversity Action Plan website.

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BAP Species Profiles
Below are the priority BAP species for which the National Trust is lead partner. Click on these to find out the ecology and distribution of each of these species and the work the Trust and partner organisations are doing to help conserve them.

Read a summary of results of national progress on the implementation of the UK BAP.