Biodiversity & The Environment

Biodiversity is a frequently seen word, but what does it mean? Bios is from the Greek meaning life and thus biodiversity means the range of everything alive on planet earth, whether that be tiny plankton in the sea, microscopic bacteria that can be good or bad, plant life such as grass, flowers and trees, to animals from ants to ant eaters. Everything has its place and if parts of this earth-sized jigsaw go missing then this has knock-on effects to other parts of the ecosystem whether that be in an individual, such as in our gut microbiome, to much larger habitats and environments such as forests and oceans. The gut microbiome is a good example of a small ecosystem with rich biodiversity if you look after it (balanced diet) but which can lead to mild to severe illness if parts go wonky eg from antibiotics, or a poor diet. Adversely affecting one part of the jigsaw eg by using broad spectrum pesticides that kill good as well as not so good insects can be catastrophic for pollination which is a vital part of our food chain.

It's worth noting that there has been a 19% decline in UK species since the 1970s (when the environment became a "thing") resulting in key bits of legislation that have now been passed e.g. The Bern Convention 1979 that informed The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Following on from this we have seen the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (NERC) and this evolved into the Environment Act 2021 to cover legislation after leaving the EU.

Nationally, the governing hierarchy has areas of responsibility and in our county we have three areas of special interest and support: Cotswold Beeches, Severn Estuary and Rodborough Common. Gloucestershire County Council will have its Local Nature Recovery Strategy which informs and implements the Local Nature Action Plans.

The Policy document attached explains the legal framework that Parish Councils have to work to and Upton PC has just started to embrace its responsibilities starting with its Action Plan. This is a working document and will be updated as parts are completed, reviewed and further data added. It is a plan for the next 20-30 years. There is a balance to be struck between keeping wild spaces open and allowing environmental protection, with the demands of modern life.

If you want to understand the word biodiversity a little bit more, then I can recommend some YouTube videos, links below.