Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) explore together how planning for biodiversity should be integral to every part of the planning process.
…report is structured around 12 principles of good spatial planning…
RSPB writes:
The RSPB’s mission is to save nature in the UK and also in the UK Overseas Territories and beyond, in support of our BirdLife International partners in Europe, Africa and Asia. This often involves engaging with planning systems in the UK and abroad, in order to protect important wildlife sites and to promote biodiversity in development. The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) represent professionals working in ecology, environmental management and town planning respectively in the UK, Ireland and around the world.
The global biodiversity crisis continues unabated. Even in the UK, we are failing to halt biodiversity loss; the recent report, State of Nature (Burns et al 2013)1, shows just how significant the losses are. We have signed up to a new, more demanding target: to halt the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, and to restore them so far as is feasible. Planning for biodiversity and the natural environment has never been more important. There is no shortage of detailed advice available (see p27 for further information), but the RSPB, CIEEM and the RTPI have come together to show how planning for biodiversity should be integral to every part of the planning process and to inspire with examples of good practice, whatever country you are working in.
This report is structured around 12 principles of good spatial planning, and illustrates them with case studies from all four countries of the UK, as well as some international examples. Although the UK has an emerging marine spatial planning system where many of the principles are equally applicable, the report focuses on spatial planning on land. The principles are not the last word on planning, but they capture a broad range of issues that are critical for all effective planning systems. The case studies come from a variety of sources, and were compiled from a long list with the help of LUC (Land Use Consultants), who we thank for their input to this report. Although for some principles we struggled to find good case studies, we are sure there are other great examples that we are not aware of. We hope that this report will inspire you to plan with nature in mind, wherever you are.
- Mike Clarke, Chief Executive, The RSPB
- John Box, President, CIEEM
- Trudi Elliott, Chief Executive, RTPI
View and download the Report
