Purple Loosestrife (c) David McClean
A Living Landscape is our recovery plan for nature. It is a new way of thinking about how we manage land to do more for wildlife, people and the economy.
We currently live in a world where over 12% of our land mass is protected in some form or another; however, despite this, we are still experiencing a loss of biodiversity. The reason is simple: our protected sites have become isolated oases of biodiversity. Without linkages, our wildlife remains trapped within the confines of protected sites, and without buffer zones, our most valuable habitats remain vulnerable to damage outside of their boundaries.
But the challenges do not stop there; almost 10% of the Northern Ireland landscape is now classified as urban, so for our vision of A Living Landscape to be realised we must also tackle the challenges of providing for wildlife in our gardens, and in our towns and cities. We will be working with communities to undertake work in their local areas that will help wildlife to survive, even in the most developed areas.
The Ulster Wildlife vision of A Living Landscape will not just involve the recreation, restoration and reconnection of valuable habitats. It will also involve the reconnection of our local communities to the wildlife around them; it is a vision that will help us transform our fragmented landscape into an environment that is rich in wildlife and valued by all.