WIREDGOV

Much of Northern Europe’s already fragmented habitats face a grim future due to climate change according to new research published today (Thursday 20 September) by BRANCH. Hampshire’s coastline will be squeezed by rising sea levels whilst butterflies like the Adonis blue will run out of space in Kent and may become extinct.

The BRANCH project (Biodiversity, Spatial Planning and Climate Change) is an EU funded partnership between England, France and the Netherlands led by Natural England. Project partners are reporting today on three years of research into the impact of climate change on biodiversity in the north-western triangle of coast facing the English Channel.

Much of the climate change debate focuses on how to cut carbon emissions, but BRANCH researchers and spatial planners have instead been concentrating on practical measures to increase the resilience of threatened wildlife and habitats and on what measures are needed to adapt to climate change.

By launching their conclusions in Brussels BRANCH partners hope to stimulate cross-border co-operation amongst member states to create ecological networks and linkages for wildlife to colonise in transit to the nearest Sites of Special Scientific Interest and larger Natura 2000 sites.

David Young, Natural England’s Executive Director Strategy and Performance, said: “Europe’s fragmented habitats face a grim future unless we do something now to help the natural environment adapt to the long term impacts of climate change.”

He continued: “BRANCH is a great example of collaboration that points the way to how we can plan a landscape-scale response to climate change across Europe. We need strong European leadership to climate proof the Common Agricultural Policy and maximise the role of sustainable land management for both adaptation and mitigation.”

For further information contact the National Press Office on 0845 603 9953, out of hours 07970 098005, email press@naturalengland.org.uk.

Notes to Editors

1. Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings.

2. To request a pdf of the executive summary please contact Natural England’s press office on 0845 603 9953 or email press@naturalengland.org.uk or download it from http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/press/docs/branch-report.pdf.

3. Biodiversity Requires Adaptation in Northwest Europe under a CHanging climate is an INTERREG IIIB funded spatial planning project bringing together spatial planners policy makers and scientists across North West Europe.

4. Ten partners collaborate transnationally to deliver BRANCH: Alterra, Conservatoire de l’espace littoral et des ravages lacustres, Environment Agency, Environmental Change Institute, Hampshire County Council, Kent County Council, Natural England, Provincie Limburg, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (both the University of East Anglia and University of Southampton). For more information see http://www.branchproject.org/about/.

5. England case studies:
BRANCH examined the impacts of sea-level rise at six case study sites in the UK located between Selsey bill and Portland bill. Partners found that the current loss of intertidal habitat will be exacerbated by sea-level rise. The loss of saltmarsh will increase pressure on sea-walls and there is little scope for habitat creation. Freshwater habitats may not be sustainable in coastal areas in the long-term and their relocation to more suitable areas should be considered.

On land in Kent and Hampshire researchers found climate change will force many species to move and habitat composition will change. In Hampshire lowland heath and chalk grassland composition could change considerably and a range of management techniques are need to facilitate new species moving in. In Kent modelling showed that creating ecological networks that are robust in the face of climate change, will help species disperse more easily.

BRANCH modelled distribution of the beautiful Adonis blue butterfly in Kent to identify a number of sites where nature conservationists can target habitat creation efforts to help butterflies adapt under climate change.

Experimental modeling of on a cross-border corridor in Limburg, Netherlands looked at the effect of climate change on sand lizard, purple emperor butterfly, great crested newts and birds like Dartford warbler, Cetti’s warbler and woodlark. The development of robust corridors on both sides of the national border found that it is most effective for ground-living and small flying species. It is less important for larger birds as they do not have a problem covering this sort of distance. Key factors to take into consideration are a species’ ability to disperse and its potential distribution in a changing climate.