Executive Summary
Key Issues
It is recognised that, regardless of any reductions achieved in emissions, some climate change will occur due to the level of gases that have already accumulated in the atmosphere (Met Office/DETR, 1999). Whilst there is still some uncertainty about the detailed climate response, it is expected that this climate change will have a significant effect on species and habitats in the UK. Ultimately, not adjusting conservation policy and management to take account of climate change may lead to a loss of species and habitats for which a site has been designated.
This work used a literature review and expert consultations to:
review climate change impacts on species, habitats and current policy commitments (focusing on terrestrial and freshwater environments in UK BAP priorities);
consider and outline policy responses and a framework for implementing those policies; and
recommend prioritised research and an early detection system.
Species and habitat vulnerability
The results of this review have been summarised in a series of vulnerability matrices, which also highlight information gaps and policy priorities.
The research has suggested that the UK BAP habitats most sensitive to climate change effects are:
Montane habitats (vulnerable to loss of suitable climatic conditions);
Raised bogs (vulnerable to loss of suitable climatic conditions);
Soft coastal (supra littoral sediments) habitats (vulnerable to changes in coastal defences in response to climate change); and
Chalk rivers (vulnerable to changes in water use and agriculture in response to climate change).
Other habitats vulnerable to significant changes in species distributions and community composition are native pinewoods, calcareous grasslands and mesotrophic lakes.
Policy responses
Conservation priorities
There is a need to ensure that current policies can respond to an accelerated rate of change within ecosystems in response to climate change. Whilst many policies are flexible in their interpretation, the effects of climate change should be explicitly considered, for example in UK BAP objectives and key land use policies such as agri-environment schemes.
Much of the current emphasis within UK and European conservation policy is on protecting species and habitats that historically are declining. The rate of climate change means that forward assessment of conservation status is also necessary to avoid investing resources to protect habitats and species that cannot be supported under the climate of the future.
There is a need to consider where and when to change the priorities for conservation as the climate changes. The impacts identified mean that it may not be feasible to maintain some species and habitats either within a particular location or within the UK as a whole in the future. The point at which conservation priorities change away from that location or even that species/habitat within the UK needs to be addressed. This has implications for the assessment of 'conservation status'.
Policy guidance
Assessments of 'conservation status' of species and habitats can be used to indicate the success of conservation policies. Measures to determine whether the conservation status of a species or habitat type is 'favourable' or otherwise require a set of practical rules and guidelines to allow for shifts in population distributions away from designated areas in response to climate change.
Wider countryside policies, such as agri-environment schemes already play a part in delivering the aims of Habitat and Species Action Plans (HAP, SAP). If there start to be changes in BAP objectives in response to climate change, these schemes, have the flexibility to react quickly to the new conservation objectives. The combination of all agri-environment schemes under the new Rural Development Regulation and the creation of Regional Chapters in the England Rural Development Plan (ERDP), with representation of relevant regional interests, should help to ensure the integration of BAP targets with regional agri-environmental priorities.
Consideration also needs be given to the management of non-native species and the spread of potential weed species under climate change, since these may threaten species of conservation value.
International commitments
Climate change will alter the life cycles and the distribution of species. Current EU commitments may need to be re-examined to ensure that fixed site policies do not hinder the redistribution and in situ conservation of species in response to climate change.
Information sources
Local Biodiversity Action Plans (LBAPs) need to be reviewed in the national context to ensure that climate change implications for species are taken fully into account. Integrated appraisal of monitoring outputs may be assisted by the adoption of a Common Standards Monitoring type approach to address the issue of a species or habitat response to climate change. However, existing monitoring information may also be used for the analysis of trends in climate change responses. In addition, the monitoring of climate change indicators should be extended to incorporate indicators of habitat health and quality in response to climate change, in particular for montane and raised bog habitats that are expected to be most vulnerable to climate change.
Barriers to change
International co-operation will be required to achieve any modification of European and international wildlife conservation treaties in the light of climate change. The level of awareness of the impact of climate change elsewhere in Europe is not clear. Consultation with EU partners and other European countries is needed to facilitate information exchange and a co-ordinated policy response.
Public and institutional awareness of the impact of climate change needs to be raised. Public perceptions of natural habitats and their use and demand for recreational resources may be a major barrier to changing conservation priorities in light of climate change. Vested interests, both economic and moral will need to be considered and consulted in order to facilitate change. The consultation undertaken as part of the ERDP has begun this process but it may need to be extended on a more regular basis to raise awareness of altered priorities as a result of climate change.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the report, a number of actions are recommended to begin the process of adapting nature conservation policy and approaches in light of climate change impacts:
The adaptation of BAP conservation objectives to take account of the impact of climate change, to be agreed by the relevant institutions and agencies implementing UK nature conservation policy. These would need to be based on the BAP strategy but should also incorporate the responses within the wider countryside to climate change via regional policies such as the ERDP.
Conservation objectives within the wider countryside might also be used in a way that is more closely integrated with the protection of designated areas, in response to climate change. The Countryside Stewardship schemes, for example, could be used to provide buffer zones around protected areas or to create stepping-stones for species and habitats to colonise new sites and establish in new locations.
Discussion within the EU institutions on the interpretation and implementation of EC nature conservation legislation, in light of climate change potentially affecting UK's ability to meet or to sustain current obligations;
Refocusing and, where necessary, periodic re-assessment of the priorities for conservation in the light of climate change impacts. This will allow for improvements in the understanding of species and habitat responses and updated scenarios of climate change. These priorities will need to be forward looking and to anticipate species and habitat responses to climate change;
Development of a series of indicators to assess the impact and particularly the rate of climate change in key priority habitats; and
Development of methodologies for monitoring and assessing the status and quality of designated sites and key species affected by climate change.
The review also raised a number of research and knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in order to facilitate conservation policy responses to climate change:
Speed of response to climate change in vulnerable habitats;
Response of built-up and garden habitats and species to climate change;
Response of coastal habitats and species to climate change (as opposed to rising sea level);
Best management practices to encourage the shift of habitats and species, in response to climate change, within the wider countryside;
Extension of existing monitoring and status and quality assessment techniques to recognise and detect the impact of climate change on species and habitats.
Overall, the report has highlighted a number of areas where existing conservation policy may need to be adjusted to take account of climate change. It has recognised that a number of information gaps still exist and that there will be some obstacles to overcome in adapting current conservation policy and practice. But in spite of continuing uncertainty over the magnitude of climate change, it is clear that changes are occurring and at a rate beyond the capacity of many natural systems to respond without the human assistance. There is a need therefore to consider climate change as a key element in the development and implementation of nature conservation policies.
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Published 20 December 2000
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