As the Chair of Natural Devon

1. INTRODUCTION

Context

In 1992, at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, the UK Government signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This led to a global target to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 and the development of a UK biodiversity programme, with a plethora of Biodiversity Action Plans aimed at conserving a UK list of priority species and habitats. An overview of the framework for nature conservation in England can be found in Appendix 1.

The Devon Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) was published in 1998¹. This identified key habitats and species which were the priority for conservation action across the country. Action plans were produced for habitats and species requiring a county wide approach to their conservation.
An enormous amount of work has been undertaken across Devon in order to protect and enhance our key habitats and species as well to meet national targets for SSSIs and CWS, and to meet Water Framework Directive targets.
This seems like a good time to take stock. Recent national publications include the UK State of Nature report², the Natural Environment White Paper³ and a new England Biodiversity Strategy⁴. The Devon Biodiversity Partnership has evolved into Devon and Plymouth Local Nature Partnerships⁵, with a greater focus on the economic and social value of our natural environment. It is now fifteen years since the Devon BAP was published.
The report

This State of Nature report provides an overview of the current condition of Devon’s habitats and species (including Torbay and Plymouth).

It includes:

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  Section 2 – an overview of the condition of designated wildlife sites (SSSIs and CWS)
  
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  Section 3 – information on habitats listed in the 1998 Devon BAP. This includes a brief description, known area, known condition and headline issues and successes.
  
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  Section 4 – information on species identified in the 1998 Devon BAP. This includes a list of key species, a status assessment of species for which an action plan was produced, headline information on other species where this was readily available.
  

It does not include:

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  Trends in the area of habitats (although any known changes since 1998 are included). The huge habitat losses during the 20^th century are already well documented and not discussed further here. However a huge amount of work is underway to restore and re-create habitats and this information needs to be captured in future updates.
  
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  Geological issues. Further work needs to be done to provide an overview of the state of Devon’s geological sites.
  
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  Recommendations. This report is an evidence base only.
  

This State of Nature report will help the new Local Nature Partnerships identify priorities and actions required to rebuild Devon’s biodiversity.

Information has been pulled together from a wide range of sources including statutory bodies, NGOs, Local Authorities and the County Wildlife Site Monitoring Programme. The majority of the information on species would not exist without the commitment and hard work of voluntary recording groups and dedicated natural historians, please see Section 7.
A short update to this report will be produced each year, and a full update every five years. If you have comments / additional information please email [e-mail].

2. DESIGNATED SITES

This section provides an overview of the condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and County Wildlife Sites (CWS).

2.1 SITES OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST

SSSIs are designated by Natural England (NE) in order to protect a representative sample of the range of habitats and geological features found across England. In 2012 there were 212 SSSIs in Devon, covering 48,500 hectares.
The international importance of Devon’s habitats is shown through the number of sites given protection under European legislation. Devon has 19 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), covering ~ 114,000 hectares and 3 Special Protection Areas (SPAs), covering ~ 5,420 hectares. A list of Devon’s SACs and SPAs, and a brief summary of why they were designated, is given in Appendix 2.
In 2002 a Public Service Agreement (PSA) target was set by government to bring 95% of the SSSI area into favourable or unfavourable recovering condition by December 2010. The condition of SSSIs is assessed by NE using Common Standards Monitoring¹. This assesses site condition using the criteria set out below.
Common Standards Criteria for SSSIs

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  Favourable condition means that the SSSI land is being adequately conserved and is meeting its 'conservation objectives'. However, there is scope for the enhancement of these sites.
  

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  Unfavourable recovering condition is often known simply as 'recovering'. SSSI units are not yet fully conserved but all the necessary management measures are in place. Provided that the recovery work is sustained, the SSSI will reach favourable condition in time.
  

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  Unfavourable no change condition means the special interest of the SSSI unit is not being conserved and will not reach favourable condition unless there are changes to the site management or external pressures.
  

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  Unfavourable declining condition means that the special interest of the SSSI unit is not being conserved and will not reach favourable condition unless there are changes to site management or external pressures. The site condition is becoming progressively worse.
  

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  Destroyed means that lasting damage has occurred to all the special conservation.
  

Monitoring results for Devon (source: NE website²)
March 2010 – 92.47% in favourable or recovering condition

March 2011 – 97.22% in favourable or recovering condition (target of 95% achieved)

October 2012

% Area meeting PSA target	% Area favourable	% Area unfavourable recovering	% Area unfavourable no change	% Area unfavourable declining	% Area destroyed / part destroyed
97.25%	36.44%	60.81%	1.44%	1.31%	0.01%

The SSSI target (to bring 95% of SSSIs into favourable or unfavourable recovering condition) has been met. However only 36% of Devon’s SSSIs are in favourable condition and significant effort needs to be made to meet the new Biodiversity 2020 goal which aims to bring 50% of the total area of SSSIs into ‘favourable condition’ by 2020.