Planning for biodiversity – opportunity mapping and habitat networks in practice: a technical guide (ENRR687)

This work was undertaken to try and provide a bridge between science and practice. It attempted to demonstrate how first principles might be applied to existing information in order to try and deliver a consistent starting point for the integration of landscape ecological thinking in regional and local spatial planning. The approaches are not intended as substitutes for site-based conservation activity but represent an attempt to place sites in a wider, ecological context. This work has demonstrated where site context might need to be maintained or enhanced and has also established the utility of larger scale, strategic frameworks. These frameworks have formed the basis for the environmental sections of a number of Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS). Although the author was involved in the application of similar methods across a number of different regions, the report focuses on the Yorkshire and Humber region for the sake of brevity.