Biodiversity Action Plans BAP
The UK BAP is the is the UK Government's response to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) signed in 1992. It describes the UK's biological resources, commits a detailed plan for the protection of these resources, has 391 Species Action Plans, 45 Habitat Action Plans and 162 Local Biodiversity Action Plans with targeted actions.
The Solent area is covered by three county level coastal habitat BAPs:
In addition, there are species actions plans including the Hampshire Shorebirds Species Action Plan, and a number of district authority level plans. These non-statutory plans provide a detailed programme of action, a focus for everyone involved and guide county-wide action.
Further sources of information include the Hampshire Biodiversity Partnership and Wild on Wight.
In March 2009, an updated overview of biodiversity in the UK was published, which helps gives insight into the health of our natural environment. The eighteen indicators were agreed in 2007 by the UK Biodiversity Partnership (Defra, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Country Agencies, Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and non-governmental organisations) to summarise some of the key priorities for biodiversity in the UK.
The indicators include the population status of: key species; plant diversity; the status of priority species, habitats and ecosystems; genetic diversity of rare breeds of sheep and cattle; protected sites; management of woodland agricultural land and fisheries; impacts of air pollution and invasive species; expenditure on biodiversity; and the amount of time given by volunteers to nature conservation activities. The full presentation of all the indicators, with charts, assessments, commentary and supporting material is published on the Joint Nature Conservation Committee's website.
