Wood anemones at Little Roe Wood
In 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity was signed by 159 governments at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It called for the creation and enforcement of national strategies and action plans to conserve, protect and enhance biological diversity.
In response to this, the UK Biodiversity Action Plan was developed in 1994, setting national priorities and targets. Action was also taken at a local level with the creation of Local Biodiversity Action Plans.
More recently in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, over 190 countries agreed to take urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity. This agreement recognised just how important our wildlife and ecosystems are for sustaining a healthy planet and for delivering essential benefits for people.
Biodiversity Action Plans are still one way of delivering this commitment, although plans are moving towards a landscape-scale and ecosystem approach as outlined in the recent Natural Environment White Paper and England Biodiversity Strategy. That means much of the action will be delivered in a joined-up way through Living Landscapes and other priority spatial areas and networks.
If you need more information on LBAPs, please follow the links for Sheffield LBAP, Rotherham LBAP and South Yorkshire LBAP.
