The Ecological Emergency

The House of Commons (2021^[2]) acknowledged that the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Notable reports including ‘State of Nature’ (2019)^[3] and the Dasgupta Review (2020) have highlighted the general loss of species and habitats, the latter states that 15% of UK species are classified as threatened with extinction and a further 2% already extinct, and both making the case for the need to halt this decline. We rank in the bottom 10% globally for biodiversity.

In recognition of this, the UK Government introduced the Environment Act 2021 which placed a strengthened ‘biodiversity duty’ on local councils, which requires all public authorities in England to consider what they can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity. How the council will be delivering and reporting on this can be found on the Strengthened Biodiversity Duty webpage.

Hampshire has exceptional natural wealth but it is undervalued and under pressure. It contains four National Landscapes and two National Parks offering a huge array of habitats associated with their geology and landscape. This geology is in part what offers such great variety to Hampshire having calcareous and acidic threads cutting across it and leaving their imprint.

Various habitats in Hampshire suffer severe pressures. According to the State of Hampshire’s Natural Environment Report^[4] (2020):

• 48% of 50 of Hampshire’s most notable species are in decline
• less than 50% of the county’s ground water bodies are assessed as good chemical status
• 82% of Hampshire’s rivers failed to reach good ecological status
• between 2006 and 2018, 860 hectares of previously undeveloped land across Hampshire was ‘urbanised’ to accommodate residential development (an increase of 2.1%)
• a further 535 hectares was developed for industrial/commercial and highways infrastructure, representing an 8.5% increase.
• 137 hectares of land was developed for mineral minerals extraction and waste management extraction, an increase of 16.3%. The majority of this land is outside of the nationally protected landscapes of AONBs and national parks
• 176 hectares of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC locally important sites identified by district or county council) has been lost between 2010 and 2019
• general decline in the condition of grassland SINCs mainly as a result of agricultural improvement or neglect
• significant declines in farmland birds, and
• 15% increase in the number of visitors to the countryside.
• sites designated for their value to nature are generally in a poor state in Hampshire. Only 44% of Hampshire’s Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are in favourable condition.

Basingstoke and Deane boroughs’ natural assets include:

• over 20% tree cover across the borough
• three nationally recognised Green Flag Parks
• ten Local Nature Reserves
• roughly 30% of the borough within the North Wessex Downs AONB
• 8,644 hectares of priority habitats in the borough
• there are over 4000 SINCs in Hampshire with a significant portion (over 800) in Basingstoke and Deane

The council has commissioned a Biodiversity Audit of the Borough, produced by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust which is summarised below.

The borough sits at the apex between two geological areas and four river catchments feeding the Solent and the Thames. We straddle the river valleys and the lowlands of Hampshire and its chalk uplands in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. We look south down the River Test and north across the heathlands of North Hampshire and Berkshire and along the Enborne and Loddon rivers, the latter starting it’s journey across the landscape in Basingstoke town. This diversity is what makes the Borough so exceptional and such a fantastic place to live.

We host a significant portion (around a fifth) of Hampshire’s Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (locally important protected sites). Over 90% of the boroughs nationally designated sites are in favourable or favourable recovering condition, which is on par with the county as a whole. We have an enviable 20% tree cover whilst 30% of the Borough lies within a protected landscape. We host an important population of dormouse amongst this woodland and the substantial 4.3km of hedgerow per km². Our Borough supports some of the most nationally important populations of rare arable flora, a nationally important bat roost (Greywell tunnel) and notable butterfly populations.

However, the borough’s wetlands and associated habitats fall below the national and regional averages. We support just 87ha of fen, marsh and swamp (0.1% of the borough) which compares unfavourably to a national 9% coverage. A defining characteristic of the Borough is the presence of three catchments (the Enborne, the Test and the Loddon) but the Test is subject to significant pressures from pollution incidents and the Loddon has been shown to have the worst phosphate levels in the country. Yet, we host a regionally important amphibian population and have key sites for dragonfly. Much of the Borough’s heathland has been lost, and due to a lack of international and national designation is far more subject to impacts and with less access to support and funding than its neighbours in the Thames Basin Heaths. We have 25% less priority coverage than the average in Hampshire and only 5% of the land is actively managed for nature, well below the national target of 30%.

The message is clear – we have some fantastic biodiversity features of real importance but we need to do more for our heathlands and wetlands and all their associated species. We are right in declaring an Ecological emergency, and we hope this strategy sets the tone moving forward.

Biodiversity Audit and Assessment Report - July 2024(PDF) [65 Mb]

Biodiversity is fundamental to human life not just a 'nice to have'. Humans are part of the biosphere and entirely dependent on it. This goes beyond the functional into the cultural, religious, philosophical and psychological.

We should be wary of shifting baseline syndrome that causes us to view the world through a limited lens. It is worth noting that both the international and national studies take 1970 as their starting point and this the baseline from which change is measured. This is due to the availability of reliable data, though substantial declines have happened prior to this point.

Biodiversity is intrinsically linked with our economy. We often fail to appreciate the import of the natural world in our economic systems. Ernst Schumacher states in his book, Small is Beautiful^[1]; “Modern man does not experience himself as a part of nature but as an outside force destined to dominate and conquer it. He even talks of a battle with nature, forgetting that, if he won the battle, he would find himself on the losing side. Until quite recently, the battle seemed to go well enough to give him the illusion of unlimited powers, but not so well as to bring the possibility of total victory into view. This has now come into view, and many people, albeit only a minority, are beginning to realise what this means for the continued existence of humanity.”

A natural capital approach helps us appreciate the different services that nature provides us. By taking account of natural capital we can align with natural systems rather than exploit, as exploitation of these systems is inevitably self-destructive. “The human enterprise relies fundamentally on goods and services that are contributed and regulated by biodiversity, including food, clean water, climate mitigation and cultural connections”^[2]. Biodiversity conservation is not just an ethical consideration, it is essential for our economic, social and personal well-being.

Our food system relies entirely on nature but currently exploits it and damages it. Land use change and agriculture are amongst the most significant impacts, and ironically the ability to feed ourselves is entirely reliant on nature. Without the biodiversity we are destroying through conventional agriculture, the global food system will collapse.

Action is needed. We rely on the natural world, and it is imperative we act to help restore nature and ourselves as a result. To halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, nothing less than transformational change^[3] is required.

Green infrastructure Strategy. Green Infrastructure (GI) is a network of natural areas and other green open spaces that is vital to the health and quality of life of people in local communities and supports and enhances natural and ecological processes.

The types of GI and their benefits are not evenly distributed and the maximum benefits are not always realised, in 2013 the council approved a GI strategy to set out a framework to address this.

This latest version was approved by Cabinet in November 2018, and a copy of the strategy and appendices can be viewed here: Green Infrastructure Strategy.

The council has agreed a partnership with NatureSpace to deliver District License Scheme for great crested newt populations in the borough. this partnership enable developers, the LPA, NatureSpace and the Newt Conservation Partnership to work together with landowners to increase habitat available to these amphibians in the borough whilst also streamlining the planning process for relevant applications.

The council is already doing strong work in trying to protect sites for nature. The council has continued to identify and designate LNRs and SINCs with Wigmore Heath, Black Dam Ponds/Crabtree and Beggarwood Park all being designated as LNRs in recent years and 14 new SINCs since 2017.

The council has delivered positive impacts on biodiversity through their day-to-day work and projects. Through the development management process over 200 bat roosts have been created as part of conditions on planning applications since 2017.

We can achieve some really positive victories through the management of our green infrastructure. A number of projects have been delivered on site that contribute towards Green Infrastructure, funded by the capital programme and developer contributions from s106 Agreements, totalling over £1M. As a result of advice given by biodiversity officers, the Milestones roundabout works retained their topsoil and seed bank which has led to 69 native grassland species being recorded there, including plants typical of chalk grassland and orchids.

The recently appointed ranger team is responsible for developing and delivering the management plans for 15 green spaces across the borough. Their efforts in restoring the heathland have resulted in the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland commending them as they have created a new stronghold for a key species; Petty Whin. Amongst many other successes the team have also been helping to restore Mill Field LNR which saw a huge increase in orchid numbers and adder’s tongue fern.

The team has been highly impactful in engaging with the community and delivering management for biodiversity. Last year alone they facilitated over 6500 hours of volunteer time, some of which is part of the growing corporate work party programme. These work parties met twice a week between September and April amounting to over 1200 corporate volunteer hours in 22/23. Community payback also gave over 870 hours’ worth of conservation work. They have helped create two new groups in Wigmore Heath and Chineham Woods to bring the total to 17 community conservation groups supported by the ranger team.

If you’d like volunteer, more information is provided on our Wildlife conservation webpage.

As part of the Biodiversity Improvement Zone (BIZ) project to enhance green infrastructure project area, 215 species of plant have been recorded including 40 chalk grassland specialists and 6 orchids. The small, isolated colony of small blue butterflies at Old Down SINC has now spread through to Beggarwood LNR and surrounds, making it now the largest colony of this rare species in Hampshire.

The council’s tree planting programme has resulted in the planting of 1611 new trees during 2022/23, on land owned by the council.

The Ecological checklist is now a requirement for every report going to Committee to ensure consideration is given to biodiversity in decision making.

Councillors unanimously supported a motion to declare an ecological emergency for the borough at a meeting of Full Council on 14 October 2021. This motion recognises the urgency and desperate nature of the situation as well as the need to take action. It was agreed that the council would produce a Biodiversity Strategy and undertake a nature audit as well as engage our residents more effectively on nature. Preceding this declaration in 2019 the council declared a Climate Emergency. The two crises are intrinsically linked, and the council want to make sure we work toward solving both together where possible.

The Biodiversity Strategy was approved by Cabinet in March 2024 and prepared by officers with the support of members, partners and local experts. It outlines how the council will move forward in responding to the declaration and recovering nature in the borough. Further information can be found on the Council Plan and other strategies webpage.