Dr Christopher Young

Farmland birds are continuing to decline. The annual Wild Bird Indicator statistics have been released and looking back over 40 years the long term decline in farmland birds is 50%, however the decline has slowed in recent years.

Colleagues may be interested to know that as of the end of September Pond Conservation has changed to the Freshwater Habitats Trust.  

Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs), which seek to enhance the environment on a landscape scale, are making ‘real progress’ in delivering their objectives according to Professor Sir John Lawton, as the first NIA evaluation report is published today.

This report draws together a number of tools that aim to value green infrastructure, and assesses them against research standards in order to help people choose the best tool for them.

Tends in the status of 1300 native species have been estimated.

The Western Ghats mountain range in SW India is one of the top global biodiversity hotspots. However, increasing population pressure on resources threatens this diversity.