In 1992 the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity became the most signed convention in United Nations history. Nearly 20 years later, the battle to halt biodiversity loss is continuing and Brighton and Hove is set to get its very own Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP).

A nationwide BAP already exists, describing the current state of the country’s biodiversity and laying out a plan for making improvements. Laurie Jackson is the conservation officer for biodiversity at the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

She says, “The BAP explains how we’re going to increase levels of biodiversity, improve habitats which are degraded and fragmented, and replace species which have declined.

A lot of key experts in the field came together and decided which species were most in need of conservation action.”

Sussex also has a county-wide BAP, something Laurie has been working on for several years, alongside local authorities and key conservation organisations.

She says, “Locally, we look at the national lists and compare them with what we have here. We’re an important area for some species so that’s where we put our effort. For example, we have coastal vegetated shingle, which is very rare, nationally and globally, so we have a real obligation to make sure we protect what we have.”

Her role is largely about bringing together various groups, from local authorities to conservation organisations and community groups, and encouraging them to share knowledge and coordinate action, which could be anything from getting funding from central government to manage wildlife areas, to encouraging local people to spend more time outside.

Previously, the BAP has been about drawing up actions for each individual species or habitat, without considering the broader picture of their decline. However, since 2008, all parties involved have taken a new approach by looking at landscape-scale ecology and restoration, the idea being that if you get the habitat right, the vast majority of species should naturally thrive.

Laurie says, “It’s a much more integrated approach. With pressures such as climate change, it’s not enough to protect isolated spots. We need to link them together across the county. We’ve identified 75 large landscape-scale areas and we’re putting all our resources into restoring and creating new habitats.”

Five of those landscape-scale areas fall completely or partially within the borders of Brighton and Hove, and, alongside their own ecologist who is drafting the citywide BAP, the parks team at the City Council is also taking cues from the existing county and country-level plans.

So does it actually work?

Laurie says one of the biggest problems is monitoring the success of their projects. They need to start with good baseline records of what already exists and observing changes takes a huge amount of time. They know for sure there have been successes with the large-scale restoration of heathland in West Sussex but other areas are less clear. The Sussex Wildlife Trust is working closely with the Biodiversity Record Centre to improve the data they have.

She says, “It’s easier with some habitats than others but of course we need to know we’re doing the right thing. What does work is sharing our knowledge and expertise, and getting people together with a common purpose.

“Now it’s just about getting the recognition of how important the natural environment is. It really does underpin both our economy and wellbeing.”

* The latest draft of the Brighton and Hove Biodiversity Action Plan can be found on the CityWildlife Forum at www.citywildlife.org.uk, where comments can be left. A public consultation is planned for later in the year.