Glossary
Areas that Could become of particular importance for Biodiversity (ACB): The LNRS process has mapped all those areas, as the name suggests, which could become important for biodiversity, where actions for nature recovery may best take place and have the most benefit.
Areas of Particular Importance for Biodiversity (APIB): The Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) maps all those areas of the Isle of Wight which are already considered of particular importance for biodiversity, sites for nature or irreplaceable habitats that are protected by local, national or international designations.
Biodiversity: Biological diversity means the variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.
Biodiversity describes the whole range of different varieties of living things and systems on this earth. Biodiversity can be found everywhere – it includes animal species, plant species, genes, ecosystems and landscapes.
Biodiversity Net Gain: Defined as ‘development that leaves biodiversity in a measurably better state than before.’ As a mandatory requirement of planning permission, developments will need to provide a net gain for biodiversity of at least 10%. This will be calculated using a Government metric based on existing habitat loss. Net gain may be delivered onsite or, where unfeasible, provided at another site.
Champion Species: The Island’s LNRS process has identified almost 500 priority species of Island nature most at risk of decline or that are representative of an ‘assemblage’ of species with similar needs or requirements, perhaps in terms of their foodplants or habitats. Champion species are those chosen to fly the flag for all – some familiar, some will become so, to help us all to identify what we can do, or how to understand the broader actions or measures for nature’s recovery.
Ecological Network (EN): An environmental policy designation set out in the Isle of Wight’s local authority’s (draft) Island Planning Strategy. This maps over the older policy definitions that located 10 Biodiversity Opportunity Areas (BOAs), as set out in the 2009 Biodiversity Strategy for England in support of the UK's Biodiversity Action Plan and the 2010 Lawton Review 'Making Space for Nature'.
The Ecological Network covers 184.40 km², closely fitting the distribution of the designated habitat estate. The Ecological Network and the National Landscape are ‘encompassing’ environmental designations in current planning policy and together they cover 264.61 km², 69% of the Island land surface.
Ecosystem: An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the non-living components of their environment, interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows
An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals, and organisms) in a given area that interact with each other, as well as the non-living environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere) that surround the living things.
Ecosystem Services: The flows of services and benefits from natural capital stocks/assets to benefit people/ society. For example, food, fuel, clear air, clean water and opportunities for recreation, but also benefits such as climate regulation, pollination and flood defence. The benefits that people and society get from the natural world.
Ecotones: These are the in-between habitats, the transition areas between two ecological communities, between wetland types for example, that blend one into the next and which contain some characteristics of both as well as unique features of their own. They are a fundamental part of the IW LNRS’s ‘mosaic’ approach to landscape-scale management.
Environment: The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates/ the natural world, as a whole or in a particular geographical area, especially as affected by human activity.
Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS): Government-funded schemes that pay farmers and land managers to undertake actions on their land which can bring about environmental benefits and improvements. Schemes offer a menu of options ranging in area, action and duration.
Environmental Net Gain: Having an overall positive impact on the natural environment. It is an approach for improving the condition of, and ecosystems services that flow from, our natural assets in the context of development or other project.
Eutrophication: Eutrophication is the over-enrichment of soil and water by nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, leading to the excessive growth of a few dominant plant species, loss of habitat diversity, deterioration in important soil biochemical functions, and oxygen depletion in aquatic environments.
For Nature: Land dedicated for nature to flourish as a primary use, protecting, managing, connecting and enlarging our core wildlife sites and priority habitats.
Green (and Blue) Infrastructure: The network of multifunctional green spaces, landscapes and features, both urban and rural, which can deliver multiple benefits for the economy, wildlife and communities. Green infrastructure includes parks, open spaces, playing fields, woodlands but also street trees, allotments, private gardens, green roofs and walls, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) and soils. It includes river margins and rivers, streams, canals and other water bodies, sometimes called ‘blue infrastructure’.
Habitats: The natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. The natural environment in which an animal or plant usually lives.
Isle of Wight UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: The Isle of Wight was awarded Biosphere Reserve status by UNESCO in 2019, only the seventh place in the UK to achieve this. It is a recognition of the unique combination of nature, people and places we have here, where communities and the environment work together in an increasingly sustainable way.
It covers all our 33 parishes on land and stretches north across the Solent to the shores of the mainland and south into the Channel.
Landscape: An area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors.
These can be:
· natural, rural, urban and peri-urban areas
· land, inland water and marine areas
· landscapes that might be considered outstanding as well as everyday or degraded landscapes
· an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors.
Landscape Character: The distinct, recognisable and consistent pattern of elements in the landscape that makes it different form another (better or worse).
Landscape-scale: A project or programme of work that delivers outcomes or activities across a large area and is based on a sound understanding of the character and function of that landscape. This also takes into account the natural and cultural elements of the landscape both old and new.
Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS): LNRSs are new statutory spatial plans underpinning the National Nature Recovery Network, produced by forty-eight different responsible authorities in England. The Isle of Wight is one such area and its strategy covers the whole of the land surface and the intertidal zone to the administrative limit of the Isle of Wight Council, a total area of 393 km².
The strategies are one of a number of new requirements introduced by the Environment Act 2021 intended to reverse the decline of biodiversity and improve ecological connectivity and functionality across the landscapes of England.
Each LNRS discusses the priorities for nature recovery in its area, working with local stakeholders to explore the opportunities where they feel positive change for wildlife, and wider environmental benefits, can best be delivered.
Each LNRS is required to:
agree priorities for nature recovery
map the most valuable existing areas for nature
map specific measures for creating or improving habitat for nature in the context of wider environmental benefits
align with National Environmental Objectives (including for example public health and climate change), as well as referencing global 30 x 30 ambitions for land management, and the role of nature-based solutions.
Local Nature Reserve (LNR): Designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, are established by principal local authorities, with Parish and Town Councils able to do so if given delegated powers. LNRs protect areas of local wildlife or geological interest, offering opportunities for learning, enjoyment, and biodiversity conservation. They range from coastal headlands and ancient woodlands to reclaimed urban and industrial sites, contributing significantly to England's natural heritage.
Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ): A marine nature reserve in UK waters, established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009). These areas are designated to protect habitats and species that are nationally important, rare, or threatened.
Mosaic Habitat: A landscape composed of a diverse mix of different habitat types in close proximity, creating a patchwork-like structure. This variety supports a wide range of species with varying ecological needs, as the juxtaposition of habitats allows for greater biodiversity. Examples include a combination of woodlands, grasslands, wetlands, and hedgerows within a single area. Mosaic habitats are particularly valuable for wildlife that depends on multiple habitat types throughout their lifecycle.
National Environmental Objectives (NEO): The UK Government sets NEOs to address biodiversity, climate, and social pressures through national and international targets, as laid out in the Environmental Improvement Plan (2023).
National Landscapes (NL): Formerly called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, there are 46 National Landscapes in the UK. These are places with national importance, designated for their habitat and biodiversity, protected for the nation's benefit and each managed locally by expert teams. IW National Landscape covers 191 km² (50% of the Island). Approximately one-third of our designated habitat sites also fall within the National Landscape. The IW National Landscape and The Ecological Network are ‘encompassing’ environmental designations in current planning policy, together covering almost 265 km², 69% of the Island’s land surface.
National Nature Reserves (NNR): Declared by Natural England under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, to protect some of our most important habitats, species and geology, and to provide ‘outdoor laboratories’ for research. There are currently 221 NNRs in England, around 110,000 ha, approximately 0.8% of the country’s land surface.
Natural Capital: The elements of nature that produce value (directly and indirectly) to people. Assets include habitats, rivers, soils, land, minerals, atmosphere, oceans. There is also an intrinsic value to nature or biodiversity.
Natural capital includes certain stocks of the elements of nature that have value to society, such as forests, fisheries, rivers, biodiversity, land and minerals. Natural capital includes both the living and non-living aspects of ecosystems. Stocks of natural capital provide flows of environmental or ‘ecosystem’ services over time.
These services, often in combination with other forms of capital (human, produced and social) produce a wide range of benefits. These include use values that involve interaction with the resource, and which can have a market value (minerals, timber, freshwater) or non-market value (such as outdoor recreation, landscape amenity).
They also include non-use values, such as the value people place on the existence of particular habitats or species.
Natural processes: A process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings) that shape our environment e.g. weathering, erosion, flooding, deposition etc.
Nature-based Solutions (NbS): Actions that protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems to address societal challenges effectively and adaptively. These solutions enhance human well-being and biodiversity by leveraging nature’s processes to tackle issues such as climate change, water security, disaster risk reduction, food security, and public health. Examples include reforestation to absorb carbon emissions, restoring wetlands to manage flooding, and creating green spaces to improve urban air quality and community resilience.
Nature friendly: Incorporating features and practices that increase opportunities for wildlife alongside established land uses.
Nature Recovery: As set out in the statutory regulations, and further explored through the process of stakeholder engagement can be summarised as follows:
Nature Recovery on the Isle of Wight is the activity of helping habitats and species to thrive by repairing the human relationships with the natural world.
Nature Recovery seeks the protection and enhancement of biodiversity and ecological functions everywhere, in urban and farming landscapes as well as in areas with a lower human footprint.
Nature Recovery aims to nurture vibrant, rich and biologically resilient ecosystems most able to flourish in the context of current and future challenges.
Nature Recovery needs to be meaningful and effective at the local scale where people can be most intimately connected, but also consider the challenges at national and planetary levels.
Nature Recovery recognises that healthy human relationships with the rest of the natural world are essential for a sustainable and resilient future and so works to understand how the human societies and natural ecosystems of the Island can flourish together.
Nature Recovery Network (NRN): A single, national network which benefits people and wildlife by increasing, improving and joining-up wildlife-rich places across England and the Isle of Wight, stretching from our cities to countryside, mountains to coast. The NRN will be created locally through Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
At its core will be enhanced sites designated for nature conservation and other existing wildlife-rich places. Additional, newly created or restored nature-rich habitat, corridors and stepping stones will help wildlife populations grow and move. It will improve landscape resilience to climate change, provide natural solutions that reduce carbon and manage flood risk, and sustain vital ecosystems such as improved soil, clean water and clean air. It will reinforce the natural and cultural diversity of our landscapes, help to protect their historic environments, and enable us to enjoy and connect with nature where we live, work and play - benefiting our health and wellbeing. More than just a map, it is an active, adaptive spatial plan that identifies the best opportunities to deliver nature’s recovery.
Net Zero with Nature, Carbon Offsetting: Developments, organisations, businesses or individuals looking to offset their carbon emissions through nature projects, for example, through tree planting projects.
Nutrient offsetting: Development proposals that are required to offset their additional nutrients (nitrates or Phosphates) to address Natural England guidance on Nitrate Neutrality to address requirements of the habitats regulations. (for example, for the Solent)
There are 3 main types of offsetting site:
· land taken out of agricultural use and managed as grassland e.g. wildflower meadow
· land taken out of agricultural use to create woodland
· wetland created to filter nitrates.
Other Environmental Benefits (OEBs): The IW LNRS priorities and measures were assessed and organised according to their effectiveness in delivering a wide range of additional environmental benefits. These range from climate adaptation and natural flood management to human health and wellbeing. The Ecosystem Services illustrated by the Nature Scot Ecosystem Land Wheel (2023) formed the basis for this assessment.
Ramsar Sites: Wetlands designated as internationally important and protected under the Ramsar Convention, with the aim of conservation and promotion of sustainable development through local, national, and global cooperation. There are currently 73 Ramsar sites in England covering 400,000 ha.
Resilience: Able to absorb, resist or recover from disturbances or damage from both natural influences and human activities (including climate change).
Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC): SINCs form a vital component of the biodiversity of the Isle of Wight alongside statutory designated sites such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. To safeguard these sites, they are designated by the local authority as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs). SINCs are also known nationally as Local Wildlife Sites. A site may qualify as a SINC due to the presence of a notable species or an important habitat. They are intended to represent a legacy of good management and rely upon continued stewardship by landowners.
Designating a SINC raises awareness of its importance for wildlife particularly with regard to planning and land management decision making.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI): A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is the land notified as such by Natural England under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). SSSIs are the finest sites for wildlife and natural features in England, supporting many characteristic, rare and endangered species, habitats and natural features. There are over 4000 SSSI sites in England, covering over 8% of the country.
Special Areas of Conservation (SAC): This international designation made by the UK Government protects the habitat of important species and those habitats considered to be most in need of conservation at a European level set out in the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended). There are 256 SACs covering 2, 115, 880 ha in England.
Special Protection Areas (SPA): Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are selected to protect one or more rare, threatened or vulnerable bird species listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive, or certain regularly occurring migratory species. There are 87 SPAs covering 1,926,816 ha in the UK.
Species Assemblage: A grouping of species that rely on a similar set of services and characteristics and services provided by a habitat type. For the purpose of the Isle of Wight LNRS, the groupings have also been informed by which species will also benefit from a set of actions aimed at recovering and enhancing the habitat, in a way that benefits the needs and recovery of species.
Transitional Habitat: Areas that serve as an intermediary zone between different ecosystems or land uses, often undergoing natural or managed changes. These habitats provide a mix of characteristics from adjacent ecosystems, supporting a diverse range of species and ecological processes. Examples include wetlands forming between aquatic and terrestrial environments or grasslands transitioning into forests. Transitional habitats are crucial for biodiversity, offering refuge, feeding grounds, and migration corridors for various species.
UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves: A Biosphere Reserve is an area that has been recognised by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) for its combination of ecological and cultural diversity and its desire to see these qualities used to support a sustainable and resilient way of life for the people who live and work there.
Biosphere Reserves are designated by UNESCO but rely on local cooperation to ensure the careful management of built and natural resources, creating better conditions for future generations. To fulfil the criteria for Biosphere Reserve, people must live in the area and this aspect of human involvement is essential to Biosphere Reserves.