Alexander Caminada
The county’s natural environment has been going through an unseen and unprecedented change that threatens to impact on our health, wellbeing and economy, warns Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Only now is the scale of the problem able to be revealed.
Just because a field is green does not mean it is rich in wildlife.
Dr Colin Studholme, Director of Policy and Research
The county’s natural environment has been going through an unseen and unprecedented change that threatens to impact on our health, wellbeing, and the economy, warns Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Only now is the scale of the problem able to be revealed.
Laurie Lee eulogised it; tourists cross continents to see it; incomers build their lives around it. But the wildlife within Gloucestershire has been vanishing, and people need to wake up before it’s too late.
A staggering decline in traditional orchards, flower-rich grassland and ancient woodland, and a huge sprawl of built development over the past 35 years has led to massive land use change and habitat fragmentation. As a result native species are desperately suffering – the rural idyll at the heart of the Cotswolds is in danger of becoming a wildlife desert.
“It is vital that we explain what has been happening to Gloucestershire’s wildlife,” said Dr Colin Studholme, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s Director of Policy and Research. “People look around and see a county that’s still very rural – but looks can be deceptive. Just because a field is green does not mean it is rich in wildlife. This is a serious issue which has been under-looked because we simply haven’t been able to quantify it until now.”
At the core of the problem is the assumption that our wildlife has always been there and always will be. Policy-makers have successively failed to recognise that there is a problem. Thirty-five years after the first major land use survey, a snapshot by an environmental partnership which includes the Trust, highlights alarming habitat losses. A comparison between 1973 and 2009, shows* major changes:
- Traditional orchards reduced by 67%
- Flower-rich grassland reduced by 83%
- Ancient woodland reduced by 78%
- Arable land increased by 832%
Indications are that the picture is similar throughout the county. South of Gloucester, built development encroaches pastureland with ancient trees, and miles of hedgerows have disappeared. Victims of this change include the lesser spotted woodpecker, turtle dove and song thrush, as well as many butterfly species.
A wildlife-rich environment is not just an attractive backdrop
“So much of our wildlife is invertebrate, which we rely on to pollinate our crops” said Dr Studholme. “But as habitats disappear, we have to ask ourselves whether we are prepared to carry on like this until it’s too late.”
Nature gives us health and wellbeing, but it is also vital for the economy. People come to live, work and set up business in Gloucestershire because it is so beautiful. It is essential for all sectors of society to keep our environment as richly biodiverse as possible.
Protection given to remaining Gloucestershire wildlife habitats still lags behind other counties. There are 122 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering a mere 3.3% of land area, well below the national average of 7%: and over 700 other Key Wildlife sites in the county have no legal protection, and in 2010 60% of those sites had no active conservation management.
TAKING ACTION:
Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is laying down a challenge in order to reverse the decline of Gloucestershire’s Wildlife and Wild Places:
- Government and our MPs need to recognise the link between a healthy natural environment and a thriving economy and give equal priority to achieving both.The recent Natural Environment White Paper reflects the problems facing Gloucestershire’s wildlife but it lacks ambition, adequate resourcing and a sense of urgency.
- Local authorities need to ensure that their planning decisions do not result in a loss of wildlife and ensure that new development brings wildlife benefits. Too many applications continue to have a negative impact on wildlife for which there is a lack of mitigation or compensation.
- Local Authorities – collectively – need to invest in the Gloucestershire Centre for Environmental Records (GCER) to ensure that all planning decisions are based on sound evidence. Local authorities rely on up-to-date wildlife data to inform their planning function but without Trust support over the past 20 years the Record Centre would not exist.
- Farmers and landowners should be supported in a new approach whereby conserving wildlife on farmland can deliver them real long term economic benefits. Farmers and landowners value the wildlife on their land but unsustainable economic priorities have resulted in an alarming scale of habitat loss and species decline since the 1940s. Farmers are not to blame – but agricultural policy and consumer habits have played the major role in this loss. A new approach is needed as demonstrated by the Wildlife Trusts’ Living Landscapes.
- We need the people of Gloucestershire to take action to restore wildlife habitats in their local area. It is important to report wildlife sightings and speak up for nature when development threatens. Ask your planning authority if they have an ecologist who provides expert comment on the impact of planning applications on wildlife in your area. Consider how your purchasing habits may be having an indirect impact on the county’s wildlife.
Downloads
| Filename | File size |
|---|---|
| SOTER-summary-docLR.pdf | 793.12 KB |
| SoTER FINAL FULL REPORT 2011.pdf | 1.32 MB |