Our Biodiversity
Biodiversity (biological diversity) can be simply defined as: 'the variety and richness of nature'. It encompasses the whole range of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects and other invertebrates, plants, fungi and micro-organisms such as bacteria and viruses.
The importance of conserving biodiversity is recognised by the UK through the government's commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity, signed at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. Agenda 21, the action plan for sustainable development, which also resulted from the Earth Summit states that:
'Our planet's essential goods and services depend on the variety and variability of genes, species, populations and ecosystems... the current decline in biodiversity is largely the result of human activity and represents a serious threat to human development.'
The government's commitment to biodiversity is set out in 'Biodiversity - the UK Action Plan' (1994), which established a Biodiversity Steering Group to investigate priorities for action, and report back. The Steering Group reported to the government in 1995, proposing a number of implementation proposals, including a costed series of habitat and species action plans. The coastal and marine habitats and species in the Solent area are covered by the following action plans:
- The Hampshire Coast Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP)
- The West Sussex Coastal BAP
- Isle of Wight Local Biodiversity Action Plan
- Hampshire Shorebirds Species Action Plan (SAP)
The Solent supports coastal, intertidal and marine habitats, which include grazing marsh, vegetated shingle, sea cliffs, saltmarshes, mudflats, sand flats, rocky shores, lagoons and a variety of types of sea-bed. This includes unusual examples of natural gradations from maritime to coastal and marine habitats, that have been lost from other areas of the south coast. It is located at a transition between different biogeographic realms, therefore, many species are at the limits of their natural ranges.
