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Local Biodiversity Action Plan

An important component of the UKBAP was the establishment of a network of Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) partnerships to deliver action on the ground and to engage with communities, raise awareness and support education initiatives.  Whilst these follow the lead of the national plans, they also identify local priorities pertinent to their individual areas.

LBAP delivery is achieved through a partnership approach and the process relies on the involvement and co-operation of everyone, not just conservationists and landowners.  Businesses, council departments and the general public are now getting more involved in conservation than ever before.  In Denbighshire we are part of the North East Wales Biodiversity Network which covers the four counties in the area and is made up of representatives from the voluntary and statutory environmental organisations, local experts and recorders and local authority departments.  It guides the production of Denbighshire’s LBAP and is responsible for overseeing the delivery of biodiversity action.  Through a joint commitment and ownership of the LBAP, resources and effort can be amalgamated and shared, allowing the LBAP to be implemented more effectively.  LBAP partnerships also have a responsibility to raise awareness of the need for biodiversity conservation in the local context and to provide opportunities for the general public to enjoy and understand their local biodiversity.  

Our Future with Wildlife: Denbighshire’s Local Biodiversity Action Plan

Our Future with Wildlife, Denbighshire’s Local Biodiversity Action Plan was launched in 2003 and provides a framework for nature conservation within the county.  It is a mechanism to implement the UK Biodiversity Action Plan in Denbighshire and to translate national wildlife priorities into local action.  It contains a list of all local priority species and habitats found within the county, many of which are also UK and Welsh priorities.   Action plans are arranged according to the Wales Biodiversity Framework Ecosystem Groups.  The most important sections are the individual Species and Habitat Action Plans which set out the conservation targets for each species and habitat, and actions to achieve those targets.  Also included are a number of Topic Action Plans, ensuring that important biodiversity themes, such as education and awareness, are delivered throughout the LBAP.

The Denbighshire LBAP is an evolving document and is currently being reviewed in line with the UK plan and the devolved Welsh targets and actions.  The actions plans can be accessed from the web-based Biodiversity Action Recording System (BARS) and like the UK BAP, progress against those actions is also reported on here. 

Click here to view the Denbighshire LBAP and progress reports on BARS.

Reporting and the Biodiversity Action Reporting System (BARS)

Through the UK BAP process, action plan targets and actions for species and habitats have been produced and are owned by lead partners and their Steering Groups. All Steering Groups, together with LBAP partnerships, reported progress on these in 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008.  The Biodiversity Action Reporting System (BARS) is the main information collection mechanism for biodiversity action across the UK.  Since the 2005 reporting round all reporting has been through this system.

A new version of BARS was launched in 2012, with the facility to view biodiversity action on an interactive map.  The system was created for the entire UK Partnership, to support the planning, monitoring and reporting requirements of national and local BAPs.  The system can be accessed by the general public and there are a number of report-generating facilities to extract various data on the UK, country or local BAP targets and actions, including Denbighshire’s, as well as status reports for species and habitats.  BARS can be accessed at www.ukbars.defra.gov.uk.