Wildlife designations
Habitat protection
The system of protection for woodland and other habitats is complex. Most land
is protected by ‘general law’ such as planning restrictions and pollution
control.
Areas of ecological importance may be given further protection- either locally
through policy or nationally or internationally through legal conservation
designations.
Non statutory habitat designations
Statutory habitat designations
Species protection
Species protection takes many forms in the UK. The strongest protection is legal
protection. There is also protection through policy, such as the
UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP).
The UKBAP lists priority species (and habitats) in need of conservation action.
There are further regional and local BAPs found in most areas and it is worth
checking the species listings on these as they may add to the UK list.
Each BAP has a set of targets which a Local Planning Authority must take into
account when decided whether to grant planning permission.
In addition to this some species need a
species licence
to allow activities to be carried out that would normally be illegal under UK
law.
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