(2) whether baseline information on the status of the species and habitats on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority list has been obtained;
(3) when progress on the conservation of the species and habitats on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority list will be assessed;
(4) under what timetable species action plans will be produced to instigate the recovery of species on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority list.
I announced a new UK list of priority species and habitats on 28 August 2007. Action plans for many of these, such as the otter and lowland heathland, have already been in place for a number of years which has resulted in significant recovery.
The development of action plans for new priority habitats is a devolved matter and each country will carry this out to their own timetable. However, recent discussions between the countries indicate that Habitat Groups and lead partners will be appointed during 2008, with the preparation of objectives/targets by early 2009 and the completion of habitat management guidance (to take account of relevant species needs) by the end of April 2009. Implementation of the existing priority habitat action plans will continue in parallel with this process.
Baseline information on the status of the priority species and habitats was taken from experts to show the degree of threat and rate of decline in habitats and species in the UK to substantiate the listing. Good information was available for some, but for others, it was more limited. Information gaps will be addressed through a UK surveillance strategy being developed by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Experts also provided information on the importance of the species and habitats from an international perspective.
The next reporting round under the Biodiversity Action Plan will take place in late 2008 and will assess progress on the original list of priority species and habitats. Subsequent rounds will report progress on the new list and we will need to consider with the devolved administrations how UK progress is to be assessed in the light of deliberations currently being undertaken at the country level.
Not all species will need discrete plans as the UK Biodiversity Partnership is adopting the ecosystem approach which focuses on causes rather than symptoms. There is no specified timetable for the completion of the action plans but experts across the UK Biodiversity Partnership are already being consulted on which species would require individual management action and which would benefit from collective action. Natural England, as lead delivery body in England, will then prioritise the species found in England and identify lead partners where appropriate. Similar arrangements are being put in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with joint working between countries where this will assist in securing conservation benefits.
57 habitats of the 65 on the UK list of priority species and habitats occur in England. They comprise woodlands, lowland agricultural habitats, heathlands, wetlands, upland habitats, coasts and seas. For the first time, recognition has been given to the critical role of several habitats new to the listing, including traditional orchards and ponds. A full list of the habitats in England follows:
BAP Habitats in England
Aquifer fed naturally fluctuating water bodies
Arable field margins
Blue mussel beds
Coastal and floodplain grazing marsh
Coastal sand dunes
Coastal vegetated shingle
Estuarine rocky habitats
Eutrophic standing waters
Fragile sponge and anthozoan communities on subtidal rocky habitats
Horse mussel beds
Inland rock outcrop and scree habitats
Intertidal boulder communities
Lowland beech and yew woodland
Lowland calcareous grassland
Lowland dry acid grassland
Lowland mixed deciduous woodland
Lowland raised bog
Maritime cliff and slopes
Mountain heaths and willow scrub
Mud habitats in deep water
Oligotrophic and dystrophic lakes
Open mosaic habitats on previously developed land
Peat and clay exposures
Purple moor grass and rush pastures
Sabellaria alveolate reefs
Sabellaria spinulosa reefs
Sheltered muddy gravels
Subtidal sands and gravels
Upland calcareous grassland
Upland flushes, fens and swamps
Upland hay meadows
Upland mixed ashwoods
Wood-pasture and parkland