The Wildlife Trusts are leading the way on an innovative new approach to nature conservation. The concept of ‘Living Landscapes’ was launched in 2007 and is a call to restore the UK’s damaged ecosystems, both for the benefit of wildlife and people. The Living Landscapes approach recognises that people are an essential element of our natural environment, with many of our most cherished habitats having been influenced by human activity for centuries. The key is to ensure that people co-exist and integrate with our natural environment in a more balanced manner in the future.
The vision behind this exciting new concept is to think big, on a landscape scale, in terms of conserving our natural habitats and native species. Although we have many high quality nature reserves in Northern Ireland, they are increasingly becoming isolated and fragmented due to development and agricultural intensification. One of the main objectives of living landscapes is to help our wildlife to adapt to the threat of climate change, by connecting up existing natural habitats. This will be achieved through creating ‘wildlife highways’ and involves enhancing features such as watercourses, hedgerows, roadside verges and field margins. It will involve a different approach to land management, which will recognise the importance of our natural heritage.
Living landscapes will help reconnect people with our natural environment and assist in rebuilding our lost biodiversity. Most importantly, living landscapes will be driven by local people, whether they are community groups, businesses, land managers or local authorities. The essential element of a successful living landscape project is to work in partnership.
The Ulster Wildlife Trust plans to bring together a range of stakeholders involved in land management during this year to start work on producing a ‘living landscapes’ map of Northern Ireland. This map will identify areas currently important for nature conservation and look at potential opportunities to link areas up and create new living landscapes, both within our urban and rural environments. This map will form part of a living landscape map being developed by the Wildlife Trusts for the whole of the UK.
Ulster Wildlife Trust already manages a number of nature reserves which are part of wider natural landscapes, for example Slievenacloy in the Belfast Hills, Lagan Meadows in Lagan Valley Regional Park, and the Umbra which is part of the Magilligan Area of Special Scientific Interest. In addition, the Trust recently doubled the size of its nature reserve at Ballynahone Bog to over 200 ha.
Click here for a summary report from The Wildlife Trust which represents a call to arms to make 'A Living Landscape' a reality in the UK. Or contact us at our Headquarters in Crossgar to posted a free copy.
Living landscapes will be a key area of focus for the Ulster Wildlife Trust over the coming years, so watch this space for news of further developments.
