The UK BAP is the UK's national biodiversity strategy, prepared in response to the Earth Summit and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992. Part of it was a description of the UK's biological resources and an outline of how to conserve them; it describes how the Local BAPs contribute to this work. 391 species action plans and 45 habitat action plans were developed for the priority species and habitats that were identified.

The UK BAP was reviewed and updated in 2007. There are now 1150 UK BAP species and 65 UK BAP habitats. A report detailing UK BAP Priority Habitat Descriptions is included in the Useful Files or visit the UK BAP website for further information.

How does the Berkshire BAP fit in with the UK BAP?

The Berkshire BAP is the strategy to conserve and enhance those UK BAP priority habitats and species that occur in Berkshire. Our actions directly contribute to the national targets.

Updating the Berkshire BAP

BNCF is working to revise the Berkshire BAP. The main area of change is to reflect the importance of Biodiversity Opportunity Areas. BNCF has agreed, in line with similar regional strategies, that it will focus its efforts and aim to deliver the Berkshire BAP Targets within these areas. The proposed targets for each of these BOAs can be found in the attached spreadsheet. These targets will be reviewed and updated regularly.

The existing targets on the BARS website are unlikely to change significantly. There will, however, be opportunity to fill some gaps that have appeared in the existing targets. For example, the UK BAP review in 2007 introduced new UK BAP habitats which are relevant to Berkshire such as traditional orchards and hedgerows; there are currently no Berkshire targets for these habitats. We have now introduced new targets to maintain the extent of both traditional orchards and hedgerows in the county.

Why are there no Species Action Plans in Berkshire?

For the moment, the BNCF partnership has made the decision to focus its conservation actions on priority habitats. These were seen as providing the largest gain from the partnership's limited resources. Protecting these has a direct influence on the success on a variety of wildlife, including both common and priority UK BAP species.

A Brief History of the Berkshire BAP

A Framework for Biodiversity Action in Berkshire was published on 11 February 1999 to consider the action that could be taken to protect those habitats and species that were:

• Internationally or nationally threatened or vulnerable


• Locally rare or threatened


• Characteristic of the county


• Culturally valued

Habitat Action Plans (HAPs) were subsequently prepared for the five broad categories of habitats found in the county (Grassland, Heathland, Urban, Wetland and Woodland). Working groups were established for each of these categories to ensure:

• The implementation, development, monitoring and review of the HAPs


• That information is disseminated to key policy decision makers to ensure sustainable long term protection and enhancement of biodiversity in Local Plans and policies


• Partnership co-ordination in developing projects and initiatives for further delivery of the HAPs and biodiversity in the wider countryside

The Current Berkshire BAP

As a result of the work carried out by the HAP Working Groups, specific targets have been drawn up. Full details of these targets are set out on the national Biodiversity Action Reporting System (BARS) website. A Summary of these Berkshire BAP Targets has been prepared for ease of reference.

The HAPs provide background to these targets and more details on these broad habitats within Berkshire. The HAPs consist of:

• Lowland Unimproved Grassland Biodiversity Action Plan (1999-2005)


• Appendix 2 of the HAP for Lowland Unimproved Grassland: Revised Habitat Targets (September 2006)


• Appendix 3 of the HAP for Lowland Unimproved Grassland: Local Authority Owned Grassland Restoration Sites (2005)


• Heathland Biodiversity Action Plan (1999-2005)


• Habitat Action Plan for Towns, Villages and People (April 2006 - March 2011)


• Habitat Action Plan for Rivers and Associated Floodplain Habitats (2001-2005)


• Habitat Action Plan for Standing Open Waters and Associated Habitats (2001-2005)


• Draft Woodland Habitat Action Plan for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire (2005-2010)

Some of these HAPs are out of date however they still provide useful background information. The main elements of the current Berkshire BAP are the targets and information on BARS website.