Review of
the UK BAP (2005–2008)
A revised UK BAP structure was implemented in late
2002, following government acceptance of the recommendations from
the 'Millennium Biodiversity Report'. The UK
Biodiversity Partnership, comprising all those involved in the UK
BAP, replaced the UK Biodiversity Group, and the UK
Biodiversity Partnership Standing Committee (UKBPSC) was
established to manage the business of the UK Biodiversity
Partnership.
Following the implementation of the new structure, a full review
of the UK BAP was scheduled to begin in 2005. This involved three
components:
(1) the statutory national reporting round - details of the 2005
reporting round are available in the '2005 highlights report'
(PDF, 753kb);
(2) a review of the targets set for the UK priority species and
habitats;
(3) a review of the UK priority lists of species and habitats.
Targets review (2005–2006)
The original UK BAP, published in 1994, had 59 targets, known as
the '59 steps'. To develop these, each Species Action
Plan (SAP) and Habitat Action Plan (HAP) created targets to be
achieved, in order to improve conservaton status. Targets
provide the milestones against which we can assess progress towards
a level at which the long-term viability of a species or habitat is
assured and at which special conservation action is no longer
necessary.
To remain effective however, it was identified that the targets
needed to be updated to take into account the latest knowledge
about status and trends. A review of the the UK BAP targets was
carried out in 2005 and completed in 2006. This was the first full
review of the UK BAP targets since the HAPs and SAPs had been
published, some of them as much as 10 years earlier.
During 2005, Lead Partners and Steering Groups for HAPs and SAPs
were asked to review the published targets for their plans.
The purpose of this review of targets was to:
- update targets in light of new information and achievements
towards previous targets;
- remove or re-set time limited targets that have expired;
- further standardise targets and, wherever possible, ensure they
are SMART;
- determine the different country contributions to each UK
target.
The revised targets are available in the spreadsheets below:
Species Targets –
revised 2006
Habitats Targets
– revised 2006
They are also available through the BARS
website.
These new, revised targets, have not yet been reported on. In
the 2008
reporting round, the previous targets were used to allow
comparision with previous reporting rounds.
Review of priority species and habitats (2007)
The aim of the Species and Habitat review was to ensure that the
UK BAP list of priority species and habitats remained focussed on
the correct priorities for action. This was the first full review
of the UK BAP list, generated over 10 years before in 1995, and
provided an opportunity to take into account emerging
priorities, conservation successes, and the large amount of new
information that had been gathered since the original list was
created.
Selection of priority species and habitats for the priority list
followed consideration by expert working groups against a set of
selection criteria, based on international importance, rapid
decline, high risk, and habitats of importance for key
species.
Following the review of Priority Species and Habitats in 2007,
the number of priority species was increased to 1150, and the
number of priority habitats to 65. All of the 45 habitats from
the original list were carried over into the new list of 65
priority habitats, although some names and categorisations were
revised, and new habitats were added. Most of the species from the
original list were carried over, but some were not, due to changes
in status or classification criteria. In total, 123 species no
longer met the criteria for selection, and were therefore
de-listed.
Further information about the species and habitats review is
available in the priority species and
habitats review report (PDF, 1.3Mb).
Signposting of priority species (2008)
Subsequent to the revision of the list of priority species,
completed in 2007, a 'signposting' exercise was carried out on the
types of action required for each species, and to determine how the
UK BAP and the country biodiversity strategies could best meet the
conservation needs of the priority species.
For the revised list of 1150 speices, up to three priority
actions, and some additional supporting actions were identified.
These were then grouped, or 'signposted' into broad
categories, such as 'research', 'legal protection', 'gaps in
surveillance and monitoring', 'UK BAP priority habitat expansion
and condition', 'site specific action', 'conservation management
benfiting single species', and 'wider actions'. Where action
was required, the kind of action, and whether it was generic or
habitat-based was identified. This enabled species which would
benefit from the same kinds of actions to be identified and grouped
together. There are, of course, a residual number of species which,
in addition to any of the generic issues, require individual
consideration and these species actions were considered in the
category 'Conservation management benefiting single species'. But
signposting should do away with the need for each plan to be
comprehensive, and to re-address familiar issues. The original
signposting spreadsheet containing the actions is available
here.
Following on from the creation of the
initial signposting, a research workshop was held at Natural
England in December 2008 to identify those research or one-off
survey priority actions, derived from the signposting information
referred to above, that could go forward immediately. A report was
prepared by Peak Ecology Ltd in January 2009, 'Mechanisms for
filling knowledge gaps for Biodiversity Action Plan Species'
(PDF, 469kb), with an underpinning spreadsheet (Workshop
Appendix), which captures views of the workshop on how research
and one-off survey actions from signposting might be ranked, and in
some cases grouped, for further consideration.
Further information about signposting
is also available in the priority species and
habitats review report (PDF, 1.3Mb), published in 2007.