Landscapes for Living

What is Landscapes for Living?

Landscapes for Living is about creating a long term, large scale vision for our natural environment and working with partners and a wide range of sectors to deliver that vision.

Changes in agriculture, technology and economy have transformed the countryside in the last fifty years. Many species and habitats have survived within nature reserves and other protected areas but have declined dramatically in the wider countryside.Nature cannot thrive in isloated areas dotted across the landscape. It needs strong networks providing room to adapt, resilience to change and opportunities to spread.

Climate change poses new challenges to wildlife. Our traditional approach of protecting the special sites will not be enough to provide the networks that wildlife will need. Some species will be unable to adapt their range unless there are suitable habitats in the landscape for them to move into and fewer barriers to migration across the landscape.

Our natural environment provides us with many resources, from food and raw materials, to varied opportunities for exercise and relaxation. It provides clean air and water and carries out unseen but essential services such as nutrient recycling. For too long the natural environment has been regarded as something apart from economic and social activity. We aim to put it back where it belongs - as fundamental to our wellbeing and prosperity.

The best insurance against declines in biodiversity and climate change is the creation of more robust and functional ecosystems acroess the landscape. Functional ecosystems are those with a more natural balance - that create and maintain habitats and allow species to live in viable populations, whilst continuing to carry out vital services including fixing carbon and water storage.

We can help nurture and expand these ecosystems by working across wider areas and networks of habitats, linking existing areas and restoring others. Working at this 'landscape scale' isn't just about creating bigger sites or more nature reserves. Its about taking a wider approach to the management of the countryside and green spaces in towns and cities.

A high quality natural environment supports the economy, promotes health and wellbeing and provides us with clean air, water and flood protection. By working together across sectors to encourage wildlife we can achieve a happier, healthier and more prosperous future.

At the regional level

The West Midlands Biodiversity Partnership has been working on a Landscapes for Living initiative for some years now. They have developed a regional vision -

"Imagine...a vibrant, diverse and natural West Midlands, where we are connected to our wildlife and landscape; healthy, sustainable communities and local livelihoods, working with nature and securing the future..."

and are developing maps showing the areas of current biodiversity resource and where the areas for opportunity are. Progress so far is summarised in this prospectus.

A  Guide to Local Opportunity Mapping  (233.00 KB) has been produced by the Landscapes for Living Steering Group to help guide this process. It is intended to help achieve a certain degree of consistency and to stimulate discussion within the LBAP partnerships.

Planning guidance  (537.00 KB) has been produced (August 2008) to demonstrate to local planning authorities how local opportunity mapping for biodiversity in the West Midlands will make a major contribution to achieving national and regional policy objectives and statutory requirements for enhancing biodiversity.

The next steps for Worcestershire

Here in Worcestershire we are developing our own 50 year vision for biodiversity in the county - a process started off at the Partnership's 2008 Annual Meeting. Work to finalise the vision is continuing, but at the same time we are developing a series of maps which will help deliver the vision:

1. a biodiversity map showing the current resource in the county
2. an 'opportunities' map providing a 50 year context for what we want to achieve
3. a 'priorities' map giving a focus to our activities over a shorter timescale (5 to 15 years for example).

Worcestershire County Council is leading on the development of these maps, and they should be available by the end of June 2009.

For more information contact Vaughan Grantham at Worcestershire County Council.