Biodiversity and conservation
Biodiversity is a shortened term for ‘biological diversity’. It means the richness and variety of all life on Earth.
There is a twin crisis of declining biodiversity and the ongoing climate crisis. Biodiversity loss speeds up climate change. The changing climate feeds biodiversity loss. The natural environment is being degraded across much of our land and seascapes. Scotland has half the biodiversity it used to have.
The Biodiversity Intactness Index measures biodiversity change. It uses abundance data on plants, fungi and animals worldwide.
Our response to the climate and nature crisis
Development, management and implementation of the North Ayrshire Local Biodiversity Action Plan document is carried out by the North Ayrshire Biodiversity Partnership (NABP). The NABP includes council officers, government bodies, conservation organisations, landowners, and private individuals. Shared goals are to:
- halt biodiversity loss in North Ayrshire by 2030
- be nature positive by 2045
Stakeholders work towards shared objectives and to agree priorities for the limited resources. The overall aim is to support, encourage and positively influence the conservation and enhancement of biological diversity.
North Ayrshire's Ranger Service works with communities and partner organisations to utilise, promote, and enhance green spaces and designated land.
Statutory biodiversity duty
The Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 places a statutory biodiversity duty on all public bodies and office-holders to further the conservation of biodiversity. This includes having regard to the:
Quote: It is the duty of every public body and officeholder, in exercising any functions, to further the conservation of biodiversity so far as is consistent with the proper exercise of those functions.
Quote from: Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004, Section 1
The Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 (WANE Act) requires that public bodies report on their compliance with the biodiversity duty.
North Ayrshire Council’s Biodiversity Duty Report 2020 - 2023.
NatureScot provides guidance on Biodiversity Duty.
Contact us to find out more, or get involved.
Climate workshops
Climate workshops are being arranged to help residents across North Ayrshire understand what action they can take to support the drive towards net zero.
The latest events and their themes can be found below:
Garnock Valley
The following workshops will take place at Bridgend Community Centre, Kilbirnie:
- Wednesday 2 July, 7pm to 8pm - What is North Ayrshire Council doing to help local communities adapt to climate change?
- Wednesday 9 July, 7pm to 8pm - What is my carbon footprint? What are the causes and impact of climate change?
- Wednesday 16 July, 7pm to 8pm - What climate actions can I take and how do they support the local priorities?
Kilwinning
The following workshops will take place at Kilwinning Library:
- Thursday 31 July, 6pm to 7pm - What is North Ayrshire Council doing to help local communities adapt to climate change?
- Thursday 7 August, 6pm to 7pm - What is my carbon footprint? What are the causes and impact of climate change?
- Thursday 14 August, 6pm to 7pm - What climate actions can I take and how do they support the local priorities?
North Coast and Cumbrae
The following workshops will take place in the Upper Room at Skelmorlie Community Centre:
- Thursday 5 June, 7pm to 8pm - What are we doing to help local communities adapt to climate change?
- Thursday 26 June, 7pm to 8pm - What is my carbon footprint? What are the causes and impacts of climate change?
- Thursday 3 July, 7pm to 8pm - What climate actions can I take and how do they support the local priorities?
The Sustainability team is planning to host similar sessions across the localities in the coming months. These will be advertised in advance.