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Review of the Sutherland Biodiversity Action Plan 2003 – 2012

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Review of the Sutherland Biodiversity Action Plan 2003 – 2012 Review of the Sutherland Biodiversity Action Plan 2003 – 2012 A report to the Sutherland Partnership Biodiversity Group by Ro Scott March 2013 1 Contents Page Highlights – A selection of successful projects 3 1. Introduction 4 2. Analysis of projects 5 3. Evaluation against original objectives 8 4. Changes since 2003 10 5. Identification of achievement gaps and the means to fill them 14 6. Cross-cutting issues 34 7. Where to next? 36 8. Miscellaneous recommendations 38 Throughout the document, direct quotes from the original 2003 Sutherland Biodiversity Action Plan are shown in a smaller typeface. Acknowledgement Thanks are due to all the current members of the Sutherland Partnership Biodiversity Group for their enthusiastic input to this review: Ian Evans (Chair) Assynt Field Club Kate Batchelor West Sutherland Fisheries Trust Janet Bromham Highland Council Biodiversity Officer Paul Castle Highland Council Ranger Service Judi Forsyth SEPA Kenny Graham RSPB Fiona Mackenzie Sutherland Partnership Development Officer Ian Mitchell SNH Don O’Driscoll John Muir Trust Andy Summers Highland Council Ranger Service Gareth Ventress Forest Enterprise Scotland 2 Ten Years of the Sutherland Biodiversity Action Plan *** Highlights *** (in no particular order) 230 populations of Aspen identified with suggestions for further work Important new habitat type recognised and located – Ancient Wood Pasture Information on three key groups of Sutherland invertebrates collated Two village wildlife audits published – Scourie and Rogart 9 Primary Schools engaged in conservation projects Two new wildlife ponds created New water vole colonies discovered Wildflower meadow created at Golspie Two ‘Wet and Wild’ weekends held at Borgie and Kinlochbervie Nesting terns protected on Brora Golf Course First confirmed British record of the lacewing Helicoconis hirtinervis 3 1. Introduction The Sutherland Biodiversity Action Plan was first published in October 2003, as one of seven local Biodiversity Action Plans (LBAPs) produced for the Highland Council area, under the auspices of the Highland Biodiversity Project 2002-05. The Plan was drafted by the Sutherland Partnership Biodiversity Group, whose then members came from the following organisations: The Sutherland Partnership Assynt Angling Group Assynt Field Club North Highland Forest Trust Loch Duart Ltd. Scottish Crofters Foundation Sutherland National Farmers Union The Highland Council Ranger Service Scottish Landowners Federation Royal Society for the Protection of Birds During the subsequent ten-year period, five different funding regimes (the Sutherland Partnership Community Biodiversity Programme 2005-06; Highland BAP Implementation Programme 2005-06; Communities Project for Highland Biodiversity 2006-09; Sutherland LBAP Implementation Plan 2007-9; and the Sutherland Partnership Environmental Fund 2009-12) have enabled the Group to undertake more than 30 biodiversity projects in Sutherland. With the imminent end of funding, in April 2013, both for the current round of projects and for the Sutherland Partnership itself, it was considered timely to undertake this review of the achievements of the Sutherland LBAP during its first ten years. The contract brief included the following elements: a. Review and summarise achievements , since publication of the Sutherland Biodiversity Action Plan in 2003. b. Identify the main gaps in coverage, both in terms of key objectives and targets, and in a geographical sense. c. For each gap, suggest a future project or series of actions that could be undertaken to improve our collective knowledge, raise awareness or enhance habitats. 4 2. Analysis of projects Appendices 2(a-d) analyse the number of projects carried out and the amount of money spent, according to: taxonomic group; habitat category; geographical area (by Community Council); and functional type of project. Results are summarised on p. 7 in the form of pie charts. In all cases, the sums of money used in the analysis are those contributed from the Sutherland Partnership Biodiversity Group’s funds. Information on match- funding supplied by other organisations was not available for all projects and so could not be analysed. Where a project covered e.g. more than one taxonomic group or habitat, the money is split equally between the categories involved, although this may not accurately reflect the emphasis of the work. 2a. Taxonomic group The largest block of projects (11) covered multiple taxonomic groups, and accounted for 40% of spend. The next largest group in terms of spend (32%) was the four projects involving higher plants. This is because three of these were woodland survey and/or management projects, which were some of the largest projects in terms of individual budgets. Eight projects on invertebrates, including freshwater faunas, accounted for 13% of spend, with birds and mammals equal at 7% each. The poor relations were fish and lower plants, with one project each, accounting for 1% or less. The one proposed project on fungi is excluded because it will not now be completed due to lack of volunteer time. 2b. Habitat category The habitat categories used are those which form the chapter headings in the original Sutherland BAP. The largest spend (33%) was on 14 projects concerning forests and woodland. Again, this is because of the relatively high cost of woodland survey and/or management projects. Twelve marine and coastal projects accounted for 23% of spend, with river, loch and wetland (10 projects), town & village (9 projects) and 4 projects covering multiple habitats each accounting for 9-16% of spend. Spend on projects involving croft and farm land and mountain and moor was considerably less, with 2 and 1 projects each, accounting for 3% and 1% respectively. 2c. Community Council area Community Council areas were chosen as the measure of geographical coverage of the LBAP because they each contain one or more human settlements, plus an area of less densely populated hinterland. The Sutherland LBAP area includes 17 Community Councils, of which Edderton and parts of Creich were historically in Easter Ross. Of these seventeen, five (Bettyhill, Strathnaver & Altnaharra; Edderton; Helmsdale; Melvich; Strathy & Armadale) are omitted from the analysis because they have had no 5 specific projects (although some Sutherland-wide projects did include parts of their areas). Seven projects covering multiple Community Council areas accounted for 35% of spend. Of the remaining areas, Assynt achieved the lion’s share of funding, with 13 projects, accounting for 21% of the total spend. Durness came next with 5 projects accounting for 10% of spend, followed by Ardgay, Golspie, Rogart and Scourie with up to 4 projects each, accounting for 5 - 7% of spend. The remaining CC areas - Brora, Creich, Dornoch, Kinlochbervie, Lairg and Tongue, had up to 3 projects each, accounting for 1 – 2% of spend. The Community Council areas which have been most successful in achieving projects are those where there is already an active range of community organisations, interest groups, professionals (including Highland Council Rangers) and volunteers, who are able to take projects forward. 2d. Functional type There was a strong emphasis in the Sutherland BAP on the need for biodiversity audit, i.e. increasing our knowledge of what actually occurs in Sutherland 1. This is reflected in the analysis of spend by project type, in which biodiversity audit achieves the highest percentage of funding at 30%, shared between 16 projects. The 21 education and awareness-raising projects account for just less than another third (27%). The remaining 43% is shared approximately equally between projects involving habitat creation (3), habitat or species management (7), and the provision of interpretation (9). 1 See Evans, I.M. (2010) Sutherland: BAP Update 2010 (updated 1/9/2012). Unpublished report to Sutherland Partnership Biodiversity Group. 6 7 3. Evaluation against original objectives Appendix 3 is a spreadsheet showing the achievements made against the original biodiversity objectives, key issues and suggested future actions, for each of the six major habitat categories identified in the Sutherland BAP. These objectives were originally set as aspirations for all of the partner organisations in their wider work, and not solely for work which could be achieved through the Sutherland Partnership Biodiversity Group. Community-led projects reflected the desires of the communities concerned. It is therefore not surprising that many of the projects carried out, whilst all being beneficial for biodiversity in some respect, did not always relate directly to the stated objectives or proposed actions for the habitat type in question. The best match has been achieved in the habitat categories ‘Forest & Woodland’ and ‘Town & Village’ where the majority of projects do relate to one or more of the stated objectives. In contrast, very few projects at all have been carried out within the habitat categories ‘Croft & Farm Land’ and ‘Mountain and Moor’. Progress achieved (by Sutherland Partnership Biodiversity Group funded projects only) within each habitat category is examined below: 3.1 Sea & coast The original objectives and suggested actions were extremely ambitious and large- scale, aiming at sustainable management of marine and coastal resources. The successful projects implementing actions suggested in the plan were on a smaller scale, and directly related to threatened species (Arctic tern and Great Yellow Bumblebee) occurring on the Sutherland coast. The
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