Biodiversity & Suffolk Branch

.from our Chairman James Mann

In 1992 ar the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Grear Britain and over 150 other nations signed up to rhe Rio Convention on Biological Diversity, the buzzword for chis is BIODIVERSI1Y. The concept is ro prevent the continuing erosion of existing species and habitats and co reverse this decline by bringing about a sustainable and stable climace for all endangered species and habitats . The Government is fully committed to this objective and has taken up the challenge set by the Biodiversity Action Plan Steering Group Report produced in 1995. To succeed it is necessary for statutory government bodies,local authorities and the private/voluntary section co work together. le has been decided chat this will be achieved at county level with national coordination. In June of this year, the 'Action for Wilalife in East Anglia' was published giving guidance on the way forward for Ease Anglia. I believe their opening statement sums it up well: "Our environment is already for poorer than the one in which our grandparents grew up. We carinot alww our chilaren and grandthilaren to inh~rit a countryside where birdsong is a novelty and wi/,dlife is only found on a few reserves. We must act now to keep what we have and restore what we have wst for fature generations to enjoy".

Silver-studded blue (Plebejus argus)

On Friday 19th June 1996, I attended a conference entitled 'Biodivmity in Suffolk Establishing a way forward'. This meeting was attended by statutory agencies, local authorities and voluntary bodies. The conclusion and agreement was that we should all act and work together to produce and implement Action Plans first for all endangered species and habitats then for all other species and habitats. It was recognised that our first priority must be the globally threatened and then the nationally threatened species and habitats followed by those that are threatened locally. We also had to accept that as individuals or groups, we must understand that what we might consider important may not be at the top of the list. Our first aim is to compile action plans for species for which such plans have been developed by the national group. This list does not include one Suffolk butterfly but does include an endangered moth, the Bright Wave. The next phase will include Suffolk species that have shown a considerable decline over the last 50 years which will include the Silver-studded Blue and several other moths. When combined with the national target to increase existing lowland heaths by 6000 ha. by the year 2005 this is good news. So, what part is Suffolk Branch playing in the Biodiversity challenge? Well, I am pleased to say that we are working in conjunction with Suffolk Wildlife Trust on a project entitled 'Recovery of Butterflies in Suffolk'. This initiative has already put us in front of many counties and organisations which is most encouraging at these early stages. The task involves a study of all habitats in Suffolk to determine whether any are suitable to sustain any of the 21 butterflies lost to the county since I 850 (I 0 since the second world war). If suitable sites with continuing management programmes are identified, a plan of possible reintroduction will be pursued. The plans which I have outlined mean that we are all part of the Rio Earth Summit. We should all aim to provide some input if we wish to make a positive change to our environment and ensure that our children and grandchildren can experience some of the joys of our own childhood. Of course, this will involve a great deal of hard work for all concerned but it is certain to say that the more helpers there are the more we can do and the easier it will be. Please make a little time to consider what part you think you can play towards Biodiversity in Suffolk and let us know. Together we can make a difference.

by Beryl Johnson