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SREP Home | News & Events | ECOnet Feasibility Study | An Ecological Network for People and Wildlife | SREP Projects | ECOnet Toolkit | Life ECOnet Project | Feedback
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The Ecological Network Approach
Ecological networks that expand and link areas for wildlife offer a fresh approach to nature conservation that will not only improve conditions for wildlife, but also enhance people’s quality of life.
The ecological network for Cheshire will be constructed by a wide range of people working together to a common framework. Parts of it are already in place, for example, as protected areas. Elsewhere the ECOnet can be incorporated in existing rural and urban land use initiatives including conservation, agri-environment and forestry grant schemes. Opportunities for the creation of new habitats also exist through "green generators" such as quarries, land regeneration schemes and landfill sites.
The ECOnet approach is founded on two guiding principles:
- That habitat expansion and restoration is ecologically informed and targeted to give
greatest effect, and
- That it is relevant to people’s lives and has the support and involvement of local
communities, authorities and agencies.
Both of these principles need to be met to achieve real change on the ground.
Development of a Toolkit
A first phase of the ECOnet toolkit begins to provide the ecological know how by setting the framework for the delivery of the ecological network. It builds on the following four major areas of work:
- Cheshire County Council - Defining Core Areas for Wildlife using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) spatial analysis techniques of priority habitats, wildlife improvement areas, buffer zones, all co-ordination of task.
- The University of Lancaster - Development of a database and potential vegetation map of Cheshire based on the UK's National Vegetation Classification (NVC).
- Alterra - Analysis of the Cheshire landscape using the ecological model LARCH on 15 animal species in five different key habitats within the county.
- Alterra - Development of a scenario for an ecological network in Cheshire, with recommendations for its design.
The toolkit provides guidance about where to expand new areas of wildlife and improve connectivity, what types of habitat should be given priority, the size and shape of each habitat that is required ecologically to create viable networks, and what type of vegetation communities we should aim to re-create.
Further information will be added to the toolkit at a later date.
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