The United Nations has declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity - a year to encourage all the people of the planet to get close to, appreciate and care for all the amazing variety of plants and creatures that live on the Earth.
2010 was meant to be a celebration of all the efforts taken by the nations of the world to bring about ‘a significant reduction’ in the speed at which the varieties of life were disappearing. But a recent report by the UN’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, tracking thousands of habitats and species across the Earth, has shown that the natural world is being destroyed just as fast as ever. And based on current rates of loss the world could be facing a mass extinction just as severe as the one which occurred at the time of the end of the dinosaurs. But this time the massive loss of biodiversity across the world is not caused by a meteor strike but as a direct result of human activities. In a competition with people for space and resources wildlife becomes the loser as human activities push nature to its limits, destroying or polluting habitats or directly persecuting or over-exploiting biodiversity.
The startling loss of biodiversity is of grave concern to the UN. As well as having a duty of care towards the stewardship of the planet, the potential loss of such large amounts of species will have an enormous economic impact on human society and threatens the life support systems of the Earth. Some scientists believe the situation regarding the world’s biodiversity losses is now so serious that it may pose a greater threat to human wellbeing and survival then any dangers related to climate change.
The UK Biodiversity Action Plan, adopted by the government following the Earth Summit in 1992, led on to a number of regional plans which aimed to prevent biodiversity losses in the UK. Gateshead is covered by the Durham Biodiversity Action Plan which lists the ‘priority’ habitats and species at risk in the Borough and details practically how these can be conserved. The Council works as an active partner of the Durham Biodiversity Action Partnership, a group of Councils, Durham Wildlife Trust and other conservation agencies, in setting out the criteria contained in the Plan for conserving wildlife in Gateshead.
And in Gateshead there have been some significant success. Gateshead is fortunate in having some very high value wildlife habitats, some of which are managed by the Council, including several fantastic wetlands and the ancient woodlands along the Derwent Valley. And surprisingly newly created sites such as Lamesley Pastures have shown that even very new habitat creation sites can provide fantastic opportunities for wildlife if nature is given the space and right conditions to thrive. In Gateshead there are also 8 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, 9 designated Local Nature Reserves and over 100 Nature Conservation Sites now known as Local Wildlife Sites. There has also been a revival in the fortunes of some significant species in Gateshead including the Otter and a very successful release of Red Kites – but much work still need to be done.
The Council is actively involved in nature conservation through a number of measures. Firstly the Council cares for over 20 Nature Reserves across the Borough and actively manages and monitors these sites to conserve and enhance their opportunities for wildlife. Secondly a number of wildlife habitats, designated sites and species are protected across the Borough through the planning system, both in terms of long term forward planning in the Local Development Framework and through the development control process. The Council is also involved in some monitoring of wildlife across the Borough and works with other organisations to encourage the adoption of wildlife-friendly practices. The Council is also involved directly with its partners in capital projects which aim to help wildlife. A good example of this is the project commencing in 2010 to help Otters to expand their range in Gateshead by providing additional habitats, artificial holts and safe crossing points under road bridges.
In the face of failing to hit the 2010 deadline to holt biodiversity loss so poorly the Secretary General of the UN has issued another call to arms asking for a new vision and renewed efforts to conserve life on Earth as ‘failure is not an option’.
Ban Ki-moon said, ‘I call on every country and each citizen of our planet to join together in a global alliance to protect life on earth. Because biodiversity is life, biodiversity is our life.’
To help biodiversity in Gateshead you can visit the Do One Thing| page