Wildlife feels the heat too

4th December 2006

A national report launched by The Wildlife Trusts calls for urgent Government action to prepare wildlife for climate change.  The report – A Living Landscape – has a four-point plan which maps the way forward in countering climate change and restoring the UK’s battered ecosystems, for both wildlife and people.  This comes at a time when the importance of our natural environment and threats to its survival are becoming more clearly understood.  The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment highlighted that 60% of the world’s ecosystems are being degraded or used unsustainably, and the recent Stern Review set out the economic case for action on climate change.

House Sparrow (male),(Passer domesticus) photograph by J.B & S Bottomley

Sir David Attenborough, vice president of The Wildlife Trusts, says in the report, “The last time the UK’s wildlife faced a challenge on this scale was at the end of the last ice age.  We need to find ways to help our wildlife become more resilient to the trials it faces in the 21st century.  We must now work on a landscape scale if we are to give wildlife a chance and allow future generations to enjoy nature as we have”.

Cornwall’s wildlife will be dramatically affected by climate change and we can’t afford to ignore it.  For wildlife to cope and to prevent a collapse in the number and variety of Cornwall’s plants and animals, we need to restore and create living landscapes.
 
Cornwall Wildlife Trust is working in partnership to rebuild biodiversity at a landscape scale.  This will ensure the countryside and the seas around Cornwall are robust enough to cope with future pressures, both local and global.

Cornwall’s wildlife is an intrinsic component of the county’s predominantly rural landscape.  Throughout much of the county you will find an intimate mix of farmed land and wildlife habitat. 

County Wildlife Sites comprise areas of land that contain valuable species and habitats that are not legally protected.  These sites are mainly privately owned and account for around 10% of Cornwall’s land area.  The Trust is working across the county to enhance these County Wildlife Sites, as sustainably managed sites are fundamental to the establishment of networks and corridors of habitat that link to create large areas for wildlife.

Victoria Whitehouse, Conservation Manager for Cornwall Wildlife Trust said, “In Cornwall, there has been a long history of delivery of biodiversity conservation through working at a landscape scale.  The Trust has been, and continues to be, involved in many of these projects such as the LIFE funded Carrick Heaths Project, the Mid-Cornwall Moors LIFE project and the Interreg funded HEATH Project.

“In addition to this, the Trust works at a landscape scale in owning and managing a number of flagship nature reserves in Cornwall.  For example the Helman Tor nature reserve comprises over 200ha of prime wetland and woodland habitat in mid Cornwall.” 

The Trust is also leading on an innovative project on behalf of the Cornwall Biodiversity Partnership to take a strategic overview of all biodiversity conservation activity in the county.  This will involve capturing information about the activity using digital mapping and web-based technology and then this information will be shared.  This will enable conservation organisations in Cornwall to strategically plan conservation programmes to best benefit Cornwall’s wildlife and ensure that the limited resources available are allocated to priority activities and where gaps in activity are present.

Other projects the Trust are working on to rebuild biodiversity at a landscape scale include a woodland wildlife project in mid-Cornwall in partnership with the Forestry Commission, and a wetland wildlife networks project in west Cornwall in partnership with the Environment Agency.

The Trust is also seeking to rebuild biodiversity in the marine environment.  Cornwall is renowned for its rich and diverse marine life, which is under increasing threat particularly from climate change.  We are promoting the establishment of an ecological network of marine protected areas.  Gathering data, raising awareness and involvement in projects such as Finding Sanctuary.

For more information about the Cornwall Wildlife Trust contact the Trust on 01872 273939 or logon to www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk.

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