WILD PEAK - Rewilding the Landscape

A Nature Recovery Network is a joined-up system of places important for wild plants and animals, on land and at sea. It allows plants, animals, seeds, nutrients and water to move from place to place and enables the natural world to adapt to change. It provides plants and animals with places to live, feed and breed.  It can only do this effectively if, like our road network, it is treated as a joined-up whole. To be successful, we must ensure that nature and connectedness is incorporated into all aspects of land management and developments, from creating green bridges over roads for species dispersal to diversifying agricultural lands to restoring our current habitats into better condition. 

Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate. Globally, estimates suggest that natural ecosystems have declined by 47% with around 25% of all assessed species already threatened with extinction. That’s around 1 million species facing extinction in coming years and despite many years of conservation efforts, the decline continues to accelerate at an unprecedented rate. In Britain alone, the latest State of Nature report found that in the preceding decade, 44% of species had decreased in abundance and 37% in species distribution. These figures paint an alarming picture and unfortunately both in Britain and globally we have failed to fully meet any of the Global 2020 Biodiversity targets, although some progress has been made.

The Peak District is host to a diverse range of threatened species and habitats. This includes a number of UK priority habitats (as defined by the National BAP) such as high value blanket bog and dwarf shrub. These vital habitats support a number of internationally important breeding bird populations as well as further nationally and internationally important flora and fauna. Over recent years, there has been considerable effort made to preserve and improve degraded habitats in the region. However, not all habitats are currently being managed appropriately and unfortunately the area continues to experience a loss of key species and habitats including flower rich meadows, limestone grassland and limestone heathland. 

In order to reach a sustainable future and stop further loss of critical species and ecosystems, we need to make more space for nature and give it the opportunity for nature to heal itself - rebuilding degraded ecosystems and restoring natural processes.

The main way that we  can build Nature Recovery Networks is through people! This could be through local councils amending the way they manage greenspaces, or through local wildlife groups becoming established and individuals and landowners altering the way they manage their land whether that is something small such as a garden to something much larger!

Wild Peak seeks to inspire and mobilise nature recovery in the Peak District, inspiring and supporting people, councils and community groups to establish Nature Recovery Networks in their area.