Biodiversity

the variety of life, the great richness of living things in the natural world

Biodiversity includes all living things and their environments, from the tiniest flying insect to the tallest tree, from open expanses of coastline to the smallest urban garden.

Biodiversity is found everywhere. We are part of biodiversity and depend on it for our quality of life. Biodiversity involves everyone, it supports us, it is our vital for our survival.

The Cairngorms Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) is concerned with sustaining biodiversity acrooss the whole of the Cairngorms area.

Biodiversity in the North East of Scotland

The North East Local Biodiversity Partnership was formed in 1996 from a wide range of statutory and voluntary agencies and individuals with a common interest in conserving biodiversity. The partnership aims to protect and enhance the local biodiversity of the area by developing and implementing the Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP). These action plans identify a range of species, habitats and areas that are considered important and require action to ensure their protection. The Local Biodiversity Action Plan is designed to fit into a national and international programme designed to enhance biodiversity globally.

What is an action plan?

Action plans are written by volunteers with a particular research interest or knowledge of a particular species, habitat or area. An Action Plan lays out the measures needed for the protection of habitat, species or areas in the North East.

It is a detailed five year plan specifying the actions required to meet proposed objectives and targets. Action plans are accessible to a wide range of people, from those in lead organisations, such as Councils, to individuals with an interest in the environment. The plan is subsequently published, implemented and periodically reviewed. View the Action Plans

Why do we need to protect and enhance local and national priority habitat, species and areas?

We must conserve the variety and richness of life on earth for our own enjoyment and quality of life. We also have a moral obligation to pass on to the next generation, an environment that is healthy and intact.

Regrettably we have already lost many species from our countryside, but we cannot allow any more to reach the point of extinction. We need to protect and enhance local and national priority species, habitats and areas of the North East to maintain the biodiversity of this area. Biodiversity is essential to our existence on this planet. Without the intricate network of biological systems, habitats and species, the support systems that sustain us, human existence would cease to continue.

Biodiversity is the dynamic inter-relationship of living species and communities operating together to produce living habitats and ecosystems. The loss of one species can have serious knock on effects that are hard to predict. Individual losses of species or habitats are likely to precipitate further losses or, at least, a general decline in the biodiversity.