Scottish Charity No. SC024418 Issue No 96 January 2015 ISSN 0966 - 1964 Recorder News Trends of Scottish Biodiversity Indicators Scotland’s biodiversity: finding a way forward Roger Crofts pg 1 Indicator Long-term trend What is Special About Bute Wintering water birds Decrease in abundance or diversity Angus Hannah pg 5 Breeding seabirds Decrease in abundance or diversity Terrestrial breeding birds Increase in abundance or diversity Butterflies Little change BRISC PROJECTS : Flowering plant diversity Decrease in abundance or diversity Freshwater invertebrate Bursary reports pg 6 Diversity Increase in abundance or diversity SBIF Conference pg 7 Moths Little change New BRISC/GNHS Bursaries pg 8 Source: State of Nature Scotland, 2013, page 3 Scottish Biodiversity Information Forum pg 8 Report of BRISC Conference pg 9 bone of biodiversity conservation. Our recent IUCN UK National AGM report pg 9 Committee report on Putting Nature on the Map suggests that we are well ahead of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi Helping The Reluctant Naturalist target of 17% of the land area protected already. Monitoring of the state of conservation by SNH of SSSIs and Natura sites suggests Stuart Macpherson pg 11 that there are more positives in the trends than negatives. Report from NESBReC pg 12 Review pg 13 But biodiversity still declines. Does this suggest that protected Field Studies Courses pg 14 areas alone are not adequate or the features that are monitored are NBN News and Update pg 16 not accurate indicators of biodiversity? And, if so, why are im- provements not being suggested? I hear that SNH is reviewing Chair & Editorial pg 2 protected areas but the emphasis appears to be on the people Copy Date & Contacts pg 2 Scotland’s biodiversity: finding a way forward Roger Crofts To read the Scottish Government’s Scotland’s 2020 Challenge for Biodiversity, approved by the whole cabinet, gives a welcome sense of the government rising to the challenge of stemming the loss of biodiversity. But to analyse the figures of the NGOs biodiversity report State of Nature gives a situation report on the real world of continuing losses with only a few bright spots. So can the situation be turned around? The devastation of commercial forestry felling - Sutherland All BRISC readers, like me, will surely hope so. But how is this to be achieved and what is likely to get in the way of progressing element rather than the reason they were established in the first to the target? place - to protect biotic and abiotic nature in a naturally healthy state. Surely, the focus has shifted too far from the origins of the We have a number of helpful approaches and specific mecha- mechanism: what I call “nature for its own sake” That is why in nisms. For years, we have relied on protected areas as the back- our IUCN UK study we have tested all of Scotland’s (and the UK’s) protected areas against the new 2008 IUCN definition BRISC Recorder News No 96 www.brisc.org.uk 1 www.facebook.com/BriscScotland Chairs column Editorial It seems quite a while ago when we had the This is my first issue as your new editor, so BRISC Annual Conference. I was looking I hope it is not far off the standard that through the pictures that I took on the field Anne-Marie set. She has done a fantastic trip to the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park and job over many years>With her support and remembered how we had been very fortu- our website manager’s help on BRISC’s nate to avoid the heavy rain showers. We new desktop publishing package I have got had a great visits and did find some Water this issue and I hope not too many wobbly Vole signs and a few dragonfly larvae. Our design incidents. guide, Katy Freeman, was rightly proud of the work the Forestry Commission had done. It just shows what can be done when you I have been an amateur botanist on and off, since childhood when have the right idea and the means to deliver it. walking to school across Suffolk fields I collected, pressed and identified the flowering plants. I didn’t go to university until my The downside of the visit was finding out that the Loch Lomond mid 40’s and then it was Lancaster because they had a strong and Trossachs National Park has not been able to work in partner- vegetation focus. I was extremely fortunate to get a job on the ships to develop some kind of data management and sharing hub. National Trust for Scotland’s Upland Grazing Project in Scotland If you can't do that there, then what hope for areas that don't have in 1995 This was followed by 13 years working in SNH where I such a designation. It is not a criticism of the Park merely a was able to do a fair bit of botanising. Now retired, I am trying to statement of what we already know - that the lack of a National improve my ID and methodological skills. However, I have a policy or steer on how to manage data at the local level is seriously tendency to get side-tracked by so many other attractive taxa! hampering the development of local recording, data mobilisation and a strategic look at the data available in an area. The frustrating In this issue there is a striking polemical article from Roger Crofts thing is that in terms of resource, or rather cash, it wouldn't be that to spur us on, and two pieces obligingly provided by people I expensive if you went for the most basic data management/ mobil- buttonholed at the BSBI conference. The one about Bute is a isation provision i.e. one person and a laptop who would be a special pleasure because I bumped into the author whilst on my contact for enquiries and to support volunteers. It wouldn't be an first very enjoyable visit to Bute in May 2014. Despite Stuart’s ideal solution but at least it would be something. reluctance, his article is a great inspiration for taking up recording. The last of the two BRISC bursary reports are here whilst the Field On a positive note, I was at a meeting with the Argyll, Wester Isles Studies Council Courses for both Kindrogan and the new Millport and Highland data hubs in November and they came up with a Centre on Cumbrae, appear in this newsletter. Millport has won proposal of closer working and increased capacity to deliver. It is a large fund to renovate the buildings into a first class Centre for very much in draft but we are keen to change the status quo, as our environmental education. Also very handy for the south, being people with a computer have no real back up and will not want to near Glasgow. continue with the data side of things for ever. Hopefully I will be able to report some positive progress on this by the summer. Lastly, do make a note of the very important launch of the SBIF publication Making the Most of Biodiversity at the SBIF confer- I was also at a Scottish Biodiversity Strategy meeting. The process ence in April (details pg. 7). is somewhat mired at the moment but I did get the opportunity to suggest nationally supporting and coordinating volunteers in- Now an appeal! One problem I will have as editor is finding volved in biological recording as one of the ten "big projects" that authors of articles for BRISC journal. Please do help by sending they are keen to take forward. I'll see if it makes the next draft of me suggestions and offers! I am happy to follow up anything so the action plan. long as I have a contact. Back to the conference. I met John Sawyer there, he is the new BRISC Contacts: CEO of the NBN. In fact I had met him at a meeting the day before in Edinburgh. It is a testament to his enthusiasm that he has Chairman – Jonathan Willet, 7 Muirden Road, Maryburgh, IV7 8EJ gone out and met as many people as possible and found out what Email [email protected] is happening in the world of biological data and peoples' opinions Secretary – Louisa Maddison, South Lanarkshire Council, Calderglen Country Park, East Kilbride, G75 0QZ, I wish him all the best in his new post and BRISC looks forward Email - [email protected] to working in a closer partnership with the NBN in the future. Treasurer / Membership Secretary – Duncan Davidson, 140 Pitcorthie Drive, Dunfermline KY11 8BJ A last thing from the conference. Anne-Marie brought some of Email [email protected] the last paper copies of the Biological Recording Source Book that Editor - Sarah Eno, Edenhope, Yarrowfod, Selkirk TD7 5JY. she produced in 2000. Quite an epic piece of work. I think we Tel 01750 76398 Email [email protected] should update this compendium and also find out what had Website Manager - Andy Wakelin, 32 Tailyour Cresc., Montrose, changed. Rather than make another book, the idea I had was to Angus DD10 9BL Email: [email protected] put it online as web pages so that it was easily searchable and you could click the relevant links. I am still working the idea up but if the committee approve it then we should have this work finished th by the Autumn next year. Copy deadline for April issue is 15 March 2015. All articles preferably in electronic format. Lastly, I wish you all a Happy New Year.