Human & Biodiversity Value of Urban Green Infrastructure SNH Sharing Good Practice Urban Design with Nature Wednesday 21 st Feb 2018
How can urban GI provide benefits for human wellbeing as well as biodiversity? Should it?
Biodiversity Value of Urban Green Infrastructure
Why do we need GI for Biodiversity? Sixth mass extinction? Mass extinction: ‘when the Earth loses more than three- quarters of its species in a geologically short interval’ ‘From the perspective of geological time, Earth’s richest biota ever is already well into a sixth mass extinction episode’ State of Nature Report (2016): ‘ .. UK has lost significantly more nature over the long term than the global average . ‘The index suggests that the UK is among the most nature-depleted countries in the world .’
International Conventions and Strategies • Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) • Aichi Biodiversity Targets • European Union’s (EU) Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 • United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Scottish Legislation, Strategies, Policies • The Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 places a statutory duty (The Biodiversity Duty, 2004): ‘ It is the duty of every public body and office-holder, in exercising any functions, to further the conservation of biodiversity so far as is consistent with the proper exercise of those functions .’ • Scottish Biodiversity Strategy: ‘to conserve biodiversity for the health, enjoyment and wellbeing of the people of Scotland, now and in the future .’ • Scottish Planning Policy (SPP: 2014) ‘ The planning system should...seek benefits for biodiversity from new development where possible, including the restoration of degraded habitats and the avoidance of further fragmentation or isolation of habitats ’
What causes biodiversity loss? Problems: • Habitat loss • Habitat fragmentation • Habitat degradation Solutions? • Habitat creation/ enhancement • Wildlife corridors / Integrated Habitat Networks (IHN) • Robust habitats • What habitats to provide? • Woodland, grassland, waterbodies
What’s Important for Biodiversity? Greenfield sites: • Avoid losses - maintain and enhance where possible • Restore what’s been lost: don’t change to different types of habitats • Restore enough: quantify losses and quantify the required habitat creation • Use Biodiversity Net Gain? Brownfield sites: • Use local knowledge to decide what’s best for biodiversity: IHN, LBAP
Benefits for urban biodiversity = Benefits for people...
Key Questions 1. Which type of GI is best to encourage people into nature to improve wellbeing? How could that be provided and what are the barriers? 2. What type of GI provision is beneficial for biodiversity? How do we measure it and how can outputs for biodiversity be maximised? 3. How much GI should be provided per development for people and nature? 4. How do we find the balance between providing GI for people and for biodiversity? Are there conflicting needs and if so, how do we reconcile them?
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