Fragmented habitats, fragmented thinking...

摘要

World Habitats Day, on 3 October, was no cause for celebration. CIWEM has serious doubts over the UK government's ability to protect and reintegrate vital habitats, which provide a number of valuable ecosystem services, in light of the new National Planning Policy Framework. A much more integrated policy approach is needed in order to halt increased habitat fragmentation, vital to increasing our resilience to the impacts of climate and demographic change. The fragmentation of habitats can considerably undermine the integrity of whole ecosystems, reducing genetic diversity, limiting migration and reducing predators' range. In the UK the degree of habitat fragmentation has long been recognised and the 2011 National Ecosystem Assessment found that of the eight habitat types assessed, 30 per cent are in decline.