Wildlife challenge: England’s lost and threatened species
11 March 2010
First ever audit of all of England’s lost and declining native species
Centuries of conservation records go under the microscope
Natural England has launched the most complete audit of hundreds of years of England’s wildlife winners and losers to an audience of leading conservationists at the London Zoological Society today (11 March).
Lost Life: England’s Lost and Threatened Species identifies nearly 500 animals and plants that have become extinct in England – practically all within the last two centuries. On top of this, nearly 1,000 native species have been given conservation priority status because of the severity of the threats facing them.
Alison Barnes, Director of Natural England in London, said: “Coinciding with the International Year of Biodiversity, this report is a powerful reminder that we cannot take our wildlife for granted and that we all lose when biodiversity declines. With more and more of our species and habitats confined to isolated, protected sites, particularly in urban areas, we need to think on a much broader geographical scale about how we can reverse the losses of the recent past, climate proofing our natural environment, creating a network of natural green space in the city which will help to secure a more solid future for our wildlife.”
The Lost Life report highlights how habitat loss, inappropriate management, environmental pollution and pressure from non-native species have all played a part in the erosion of England’s biodiversity. All of the major groups of flora and fauna have experienced losses, with butterflies, amphibians, and many plant and other insect species being particularly hard hit – in some groups up to a quarter of species have been become extinct since 1800.
In London, it could seem that the worst is behind us. For example, by the end of the 1950s, the River Thames was biologically dead due to excessive pollution. During the 1960s and 70s, improvements were made at two sewage treatment plants, resulting in a dramatic improvement in water quality. As a result, today there are 121 different species of fish and over 170,000 birds which have returned to live and breed in the estuary.
Conservation efforts have achieved some notable successes in protecting priority species and habitats - including the return of the peregrine, the short-snouted seahorse and the Atlantic salmon to London. Nevertheless, losses continue, exacerbated by continued human activity, climate change and fragmented habitats. Approximately 150 native species are now classed as of conservation priority in the capital while the numbers of many more are in significant decline. Some of London’s most familiar species - including the house sparrow, hedgehog, and European eel - face an uncertain future.
To provide long term support for our wildlife, Natural England is working with a range of partners in the England Biodiversity Group to adopt a “landscape-scale” approach to conservation which goes beyond the conservation of small protected sites and individual species and embraces the management of entire landscape areas and the ecosystems that operate within them. Wide-scale restoration of habitats and ecosystems and linking of habitat areas is seen as key to taking the pressure off the biodiversity hotspots of individual sites and reserves and giving broader support to wildlife across London, and into the wider countryside.
Alison Barnes continued, “Current, targeted conservation programmes have been central to supporting London’s biodiversity and they show that we can reverse some of the losses of the past. But fire fighting to rescue species and habitats in severe decline can never be a long term solution. We need a step-change in conservation which focuses on restoring the health of ecosystems across the capital. We have to enhance and connect our city’s green spaces to give wildlife and habitats more room to thrive. Only through co-ordinated activity across sectors can we reverse continuing declines in biodiversity in London.”
-Ends-
Notes to editors
Copies of the full report - Lost Life: England’s Lost and Threatened Species
- can be downloaded from the Natural England website.
Copies of Natural England and Defra’s joint publication: Securing Biodiversity - A new framework for delivering priority habitats and species in England can be downloaded from the Natural England website.
Lost Life: England’s Lost and Threatened Species attempts to document all known species lost from England in the last two millennia. For some species groups, including certain invertebrate groups and fungi, the number of species in England is unknown, so it is impossible to say exactly what has been lost. Consequently, this report cannot be comprehensive for all groups but we have collated all available data, including those for the less known groups. For some groups, we were able to assess species losses separately for each English region. We have also analysed data relating to those species that have declined significantly.
We estimate that at least 55,000 species are native or probably were native to England. We know that 492 of these have been lost within historic times, most within the last 200 years. The proportion of native species now lost in the better-studied groups varies from zero to almost a quarter of known species.
The England Biodiversity Strategy sets out the action and co-ordinating framework needed to halt biodiversity loss and to rebuild our natural environment. At UK level, Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) priority species have been identified, to give strong direction on where we need to focus our conservation efforts. The London BAP prioritises habitats and species that have undergone significant decline in the last 50 years, or where London is their last stronghold. The UK BAP species in England are listed as “species of principle concern” for the conservation of biological diversity under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006). In London this includes 85 species: 21 plants, e.g. marsh sow thistle; 6 vertebrates, e.g. dormouse; 25 invertebrates, e.g. German hairy snail; 8 funghi, e.g. pink waxcap; 20 birds e.g starling and 5 reptiles e.g. the adder. A full list can be found on the London Biodiversity Partnership website
.Recent extinctions in London have include the green-winged orchid and sea clover.
Targeted conservation efforts over the past fifteen years have made a number of real improvements in the status of the 9 priority habitats that appeared on the original BAP priority habitat list for London. The latest assessment in 2009, reported that 60% of habitats have increased and 16% have stabilised. Improvements in quality have also occurred: for example, rivers and streams have improved by 68%, reedbed by 58% and chalk grassland by 32% against targets. Objectives for the restoration of heathland, woodland and lowland meadow will be more difficult to achieve without concerted action.
In London, peregrine numbers have increased from 0 - approx. 5 breeding pairs, otter have been sighted in London’s rivers, including the Thames, and the adder population has now stabilised and can now be found in 5 sites across London. This is largely due to protection measures, management advice, increases in habitat size and improvements in habitat quality.
Similar efforts to conserve lowland heathland and chalk grassland in London have assisted the recovery of a number of species, including the chalk hill blue butterfly, common lizard, wild thyme, wild basil, cowslip, bilberry and a wide variety of orchids.
Conservation initiatives in London, include breeding programmes such as those used for the black poplar and reintroduction techniques which are used to boost populations and expand the range of species that have become threatened, such as creeping marshwort. which has been introduced to areas which were formerly occupied, together with habitat management and protection.
About Natural England
Natural England is the government’s independent advisor on the natural environment. Established in 2006 our work is focused on enhancing England’s wildlife and landscapes and maximising the benefits they bring to the public.
Within the London region we:
work to ensure that London’s unique habitats and wildlife and the natural landscapes they create are robust and healthy;
work to secure improved management of land through land management partnerships;
establish and care for London’s main wildlife and geological sites ensuring that the region’s 35 Sites of Special Scientific Interest are looked after and improved;
work to ensure that London’s finest landscapes and wildlife rich places are effectively protected, and linked physically and conceptually to the wider network of green space in our city;
run England’s Environmental Stewardship green farming schemes that deliver over £1 million a year to London’s farmers and landowners, enabling them to enhance the natural environment;
fund, manage, and provide scientific expertise for a wide range of conservation projects in London each year, improving the prospects for London’s species and habitats;
seek to promote and secure accessible natural green space in the places where people live, work and play and take action for the natural environment for the benefits it offers to their health, wellbeing and quality of life;
work to secure a green infrastructure (comprising the city’s network of greenspace and the greening of the built environment) that contributes to climate change adaptation and enhances biodiversity, landscape and access to the natural environment.
See Natural England - London for further information about our work in the region
For further information contact:
Ellen Softley, London Press Office T: 0300 060 0213 M: 07990 804795, e-mail: ellen.softley@naturalengland.org.uk or
Adam Elwell, London Press Office T: 0300 060 0965 M: 07814 501780, e-mail: adam.elwell@naturalengland.org.uk
Alternatively contact the national press team at press@naturalengland.org.uk, out of hours 07970 098005.
Photographs and a spokesperson available on request.
