Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

A Living Landscape - Yorkshire and the Humber

IMAGINE...

... recharging your batteries, away from the hustle and bustle of cities and towns, in vast areas of wilderness, managed by nature.
... huge and exciting new wetlands, alive with wild birds, and holding back the water which might flood our homes.
... nature reserves where flower-rich meadows and shady, inviting woodlands stretch as far as the horizon.
... being able to walk from your front door into a continuous stretch of wildlife-rich countryside which goes on for miles.
... a countryside which is as rich in wildlife as it was in yesteryear, but helps maintain our climate, produces our food, and replenishes our spirits – a countryside for the 21st Century.

This is what the ecological network approach to rebuilding biodiversity is all about, and the Trusts Living Landsacape document presents a vision of how it could be achieved in Yorkshire and the Humber.

It has been put together to:

• Present a model for rebuilding the region’s natural environment.

• Bring this important, new approach higher up the land-use planning and conservation agendas.

• Stimulate further discussion and action to rebuild the natural environment of Yorkshire and the Humber.

An Ecological Network Approach presented by the Wildlife Trusts in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Nature conservation in Britain has traditionally focused on the protection of special sites, whether designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), protected as nature reserves, or highlighted as locally important wildlife sites. This has been essential to slow the huge loss of wildlife across the British landscape over the last century.

This approach has proved successful, at least to some extent, in defending wildlife where it remains. But it does not give us a way to restore and rebuild the natural environment in the wider countryside, to bring wildlife into our towns and cities, or to address the challenge of conserving marine wildlife:

• We need to increase the ability of the environment to protect us from flooding and to soak up carbon dioxide (‘ecosystem services’). This will demand the restoration of extensive areas of natural habitat, particularly peatlands, wetlands and woodlands.

• Better access to the natural environment helps improve mental and physical health, and improves quality of life. We need to bring wild places to more people, and bring more people into wild places.

• Isolated nature reserves and other protected sites are unlikely to be able to sustain wildlife in the long term. Sites will need to be buffered, extended and linked if wildlife is to be able to adapt to climate change.

• Outside protected sites, once common and widespread species are in catastrophic decline. We need a new approach to reverse this decline.

• It is still not clear how much land is needed to conserve rare species and habitats. But we do know that wildlife restricted to isolated patches in an otherwise hostile environment is vulnerable and unstable. Wildlife needs large, functional areas or networks which give it room to adapt, resilience to change, and opportunity to spread.