BAP in Wales

Introduction

Wales is required to deliver action for priority species and habitats in order to provide resilient, functional ecosystems and meet biodiversity targets including all species and habitats listed for Section 42 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006. The BAP process in Wales aims to build on the strengths of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) process, address some of its weaknesses, in particular by improving the integration of habitat and species-based work, strengthening support for national and local levels of delivery and developing the ecosystem approach.

Priority Habitat Mapping update

Future of BAP Mechanism in Wales Framework document Aug 09

Future of BAP Meetings

Ecosystem Groups

The nine ecosystem groups will bring together habitat and relevant associated species interests at the Wales level. They will largely be made up of experts from relevant organisations, NGOs and LBAPs, and will be charged with driving the delivery of priority habitat targets including those associated with relevant species by identifying and, where appropriate, carrying out the most important actions required by the group as a whole. The Species Expert Group is tasked with preventing the limited number of species experts in Wales and the UK from receiving multiple queries from each habitat group regarding species action.

To strengthen the delivery mechanism between Wales-level ecosystem groups and LBAP partnerships/regional biodiversity groups, ecosystem workshops are available to bring together delivery partners at the various spatial scales. To date, lowland grassland & heathland, wetland, and freshwater workshops have taken place and the outputs are listed under the relevant ecosystem group below. Opportunities exist for further workshops; using the workshop planner, LBAP partnerships are able to request workshop sessions in their area by contacting the relevant Ecosystem group contact.

Coastal

Freshwater

Lowland Grassland and Heathland

Marine

Upland

Urban and Brownfield

Wetlands

Woodland

Section 42 Species and Habitats - Setting Targets and Actions

The new Species Lead Partners are currently working on targets and actions for Section 42 species and habitats. This work is being done by a small number of dedicated experts in addition to their ‘day job’ and it has been impossible to keep to the ambitious deadlines set in the original timetable. The Future of BAP Wales Biodiversity Partnership Task and Finish group met on February 23rd 2009 and decided that the most effective way to progress this work was to clarify the process for agreeing and publishing the targets and actions to ensure everyone knows what to expect and how to participate. This is set out below

Wales level priority Actions:

• Proposed actions published on the WBP website for a 6 week consultation process managed by the lead partner (by the Marine Ecosystem Group in the case of marine actions)
• E-mail alert to LBAP partnerships, WBP and the species Lead Partner that the consultation period has started
• Comments sent to the named Lead Partner
• Lead partner updates /amends proposed actions
• Final action templates are added to the BARS advisory pages.
• Once agreements has been secured on who is taking an action forward it will be added to the BARS database as an agreed action

Wales level Targets:

• To be agreed by lead partners and published on the BARS advisory pages (by the Marine Ecosystem Group in the case of marine targets)
• An e-mail will be sent to LBAP Partnerships, WBP and the Lead Partner to inform them that the targets have been published
• Will over time be uploaded onto BARS as Wales level targets