Common declines

Abstract

Britain has doubled the number of species in need of action under its biodiversity plan. Nigel Williams reports. Britain has doubled the number of species in need of action under its biodiversity plan. Nigel Williams reports. While the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society have highlighted for the British government's attention and beyond the plight of cetaceans in its seas (see pages R780–R781), the government itself acknowledged last month the need for tougher conservation measures for many once common species and habitats in the face of often increasingly alarming decline. The British government announced a doubling of the number of species to be included in conservation plans first drawn up a decade ago. The list is the result of the most comprehensive analysis by experts ever undertaken in the country. It contains 1,149 species and also 65 habitat types that have been listed as a basis for prioritising conservation action under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Some familiar species such as the hedgehog, cuckoo, house sparrow, grass snake and marsh orchids are now on the list. And animals such as otters, which have been the subject of intensive reintroduction and conservation programmes are still causing sufficient concern to also be included in the new list. The action plan, reviewed every 10 years, has increased from 577 in 1997. This is in spite of success in more than 100 species since that time. The decline in hedgehog numbers has been alarming conservationists: once perceived as common, numbers have been falling so dramatically that at the present rate of decline they could be facing extinction within a couple of decades. A common victim of road traffic, they are also suffering as a result of pollution, pesticides and other garden and agricultural chemicals. The trend for tidier gardens and features such as decking, also does nothing for hedgehogs and their prey. The house sparrow has seen an estimated fall in numbers of around 50 per cent over the past 25 years, with the causes still not clear, but again modern houses, with fewer spaces around their roofs for sparrows to nest, are likely to be a key problem. Announcing the list, the environment minister, Joan Ruddock, remained optimistic that species and habitat loss would be halted within three years. She highlighted success stories in the past 10 years and said the increase in the list was in part due to more rigorous scientific analysis. “Through the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, we have shown that we can be very successful when we target our resources at conserving particular species and habitats. We have increased the population of the rare bird, the cirl bunting, and increased the area of lowland heathland. We have been able to remove some species from the list such as the Killarney fern and the prickly sedge, because we have already met all our action plan objectives,” said Ruddock. But the new list suggests much tougher action will be needed to make a difference for these more widespread species.