GiGL’s new partners …
Four new London boroughs joined the GiGL partnership at the start of the current financial year. A further three are considering signing up to service level agreements. If successful, this would bring the total number of London boroughs in the GiGL partnership to 30 out of a possible 33.
These new partners were also joined by the London Development Agency and London Fire Brigade, both of which require access to data on London’s green infrastructure and protected species to inform their work.
… and a new publication
The new Defra-funded Darwin Guide to Recording Wildlife was launched by the National Biodiversity Network at their annual conference, held at the Royal Institution of Great Britain on the 20th November. Aimed at getting more people involved in recording wildlife, this publication was produced in partnership by the NBN,The Charles Darwin Trust, LB Bromley and GiGL. The publication can be downloaded at http://www.nbn.org.uk/Usefulthings/Publications.aspx#Darwin
National Indicator 197 (Biodiversity)
Local authorities now have a statutory duty to report to central government on a suite of 198 national indicators. In London, National Indicator 197 measures the proportion local wildlife sites where positive conservation management has been or is being implemented. GiGL was contracted to work with the London boroughs on collating and verifying the supporting information in order to establish the first year’s baseline information, which will now be maintained and updated centrally in collaboration with our borough partners and London’s new Local Wildlife Sites Partnership. Indicators of positive conservation management include:
- An active management plan covering the habitat or species for which the wildlife site was designated.
- The site having a target within a relevant biodiversity or geodiversity action plan.
- Proof of appropriate management advice being given to the land owner by the local authority.
The final results were submitted by the London boroughs to the Department for Communities and Local Government, and GiGL hopes to incorporate the NI197 information into a new database for London’s local wildlife sites.