An ecology database site is a discrete area of land that is considered to be of significance for its wildlife and geological features in at least a local context. They are nearly 5000 sites with at least some semi-natural habitat feature and / or species interest and are supported by data held in the Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre database.
Of these sites, nearly 2000 have been designated as Wildlife Sites.
This is a non-statutory designation and is a typical term for a network of sites that are identified at a county level as being of local conservation importance and often recognised in Local Authority development plans. They are sometimes called SINCs or SNCIs.
There are many sites within Hertfordshire that are not recognised under the National designation of SSSI but are of considerable wildlife value due to the special interest of their flora / fauna. Between1994-97 a countywide project was instigated to identify which non-designated sites were important for wildlife. The selected sites are now known as Wildlife Sites (WS). The aim of this identification is to protect such sites from land management changes, which may lessen their nature conservation interest, and to encourage sensitive management to maintain and enhance their importance.
A panel of expert ecologists made the initial selection of WS, after extensive interpretation of aerial photography and survey work. This panel included representatives from Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre, Natural England and the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, together with a range of specialists with either specific species knowledge. Assessment and identification of WS is a continuing process, with new sites being identified and others deleted as ecological knowledge of the total resource and specific sites increase.
Although WS have no statutory protection they need to be considered in the planning process through Planning Policy Guidance like PPG9 which refers to the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 Section 30. This states that nature conservation issues should be included in the surveys of local authority areas to ensure that the plans are based on fully adequate information about local species, habitats, geology and landform. Plans should be concerned not only with designated areas but also with other land of conservation value and the possible provision of new habitats.
WS summary sheets outline the characteristics of the area based on its semi-natural vegetation and/or species interest.
It is important to realise that classification as a WS does not reduce the value of other ecology database sites, as sites of WS quality may not have been surveyed for various reasons. All areas of semi-natural vegetation are important to wildlife. Many rare plants and animals occur in seemingly otherwise uninteresting sites and may have been overlooked by the survey.
Key National and International Site Designations
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