Local biodiversity

Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life you will find in one area. This includes the variety of animals, plants and bacteria that make up our natural world.

Biodiversity supports everything in nature we need to survive such as food, water, medicine and shelter.

Our local biodiversity

South Gloucestershire is rich in wildlife with many areas of importance including:

• The Severn Estuary which is internationally important for its bird life, fish, mudflats and saltmarshes
• parts of the Cotswolds which are nationally important for their distinctive landscapes for wildlife including flower-rich grasslands
• Lower Woods in Wickwar, one of England’s largest ancient woodlands
• traditional agricultural areas which include hay meadows, species-rich hedgerows and farmland birds and flowers
• ponds where otters and great crested newts are found

Biodiversity action plan for South Gloucestershire

The biodiversity action plan identifies local priorities for habitat and species conservation in South Gloucestershire.

It also recognises the benefits of wildlife to people and helps to identify ways to better promote and engage people in biodiversity conservation in our area.

We worked together with residents, wildlife enthusiasts and experts to create our plan.

Our current action plan should be read alongside the 2006 to 2015 plan as it still has useful information on biodiversity in South Gloucestershire.

The species and habitats listed in our biodiversity action plan will continue to be used in formal planning documents alongside the government’s habitats and species of principal importance in England.

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