Like all borough biodiversity officers, I require access to reliable species information for many aspects of my work including strategic and development planning. A variety of people will expect me to be able to tell them what lives where in the borough, the moment that I pick up the phone to them. Yet many biodiversity officers inherit what information we have in various forms – paper notes, spreadsheets etc – from a variety of sources. These can be hard to collate at short notice. Equally, our records are often incomplete.
Partnership Working
Tales from the riverbank
The water vole is a UK priority species for biodiversity conservation. Its presence on a site is a material consideration in planning applications, and under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) it is an offence to damage burrows and nests, or to disturb water voles while they are in their burrows. The water vole is also protected from persecution and unnecessary suffering under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act (1996). A review is currently underway which will hopefully lead to the water vole being given full protection – making it an offence to take, possess or intentionally kill a water vole.