Memorandum by the Heritage Lottery Fund
(BI0 36)
UK BIODIVERSITY INQUIRY
Heritage Lottery Fund welcomes the Environmnent,
Transport and Regional Affairs, Environment Sub-committee's inquiry
on UK Biodiversity and the recommendations from the subsequent
Report, as HLF have committed over £100 million directly
or indirectly to biodiversity projects over the last five years
within land policies for conserving the natural heritage.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Heritage Lottery Fund was set up
under the National Lottery Act, 1993, as amended by The National
Heritage Act 1997 and Lottery Act 1998, to distribute money provided
by the National Lottery to the nation's heritage. Decisions on
expenditure are made by a board of Trustees and by four national
committees for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
1.2 HLF income derives from the sale of
Lottery tickets. During the current Corporate Plan period HLF
is expected to commit £315-320 million per year with an indicative
allocation of £70 million per year for land based projects.
1.3 In light of the Policy Directions issued
by DCMS in August 1998, Trustees seek through their support for
projects which benefit the heritage to secure wider benefits including
access, education, sustainable development and reducing economic
and social deprivation and which also provide an equable spread
of expenditure acrosss home countries and regions.
1.4 HLF land policies were revised in 1997
and 1998 to encourage both revenue and capital projects relating
to:
— the conservation and restoration
of public parks and designed landscapes of national and local
heritage interest;
— the purchase of land of nature conservation
interest;
— habitat conservation, management
and re-creation;
— strategic area projects which integrate
the conservation of both the built and the natural heritage within
a defined landscape character area.
HLF does not currently consider funding projects
directly for individual BAP species plans, though indirectly this
is usually an important part of local or national Habitat Action
Plan projects which are eligible.
2. HLF SUPPORT
OF UK BIODIVERSITY
TARGETS
HLF works closely with the UK Habitat Action
Plan lead agencies and bodies such as The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB,
Woodland Trust, National Trust to develop HLF funding of biodiversity
projects.
HLF has supported UK Biodiversity projects for:
2.1 Acquisition of Land of Nature Conservation
Interest
Applications for the acquisition of land which
has been identified as of nature conservation interest through
national, regional or local strategic plans from those charitable
or other bodies who can demonstrate the ability to sustain conservation
management; and can provide a suitable level of physical or intellectual
public access; and where the land:
— is designated of national habitat
or species significance;
— or provides buffer zones for habitat
sites of national importance;
— or seeks to redress the problem of
fragmentation of wildlife habitats;
— or can significantly contribute to
re-creation of nationally important habitats.
2.2 Habitat Enhancement
Conservation and enhancement of new and existing
wildlife reserves where projects often provide the infrastructure
for sustainable conservation management such as fencing for grazing
schemes, scrub clearance, improved access and educational facilities
or interpretation.
2.3 Habitat Action Plan Projects
In 1997 HLF agreed, following lengthy negotiations,
that English Nature should be allocated £14 million for a
UK wide umbrella project, managed by themselves on behalf of the
other home country agencies, for the restoration and management
of Lowland Heathland habitats, considered by them to be a priority
BAP target. This programme called "Tomorrow's Heathland
Heritage" challenges EN to meet the UK targets for this
habitat allowing for HLF grants @ 75 per cent over a period of
five to nine years based on an initial HAP target estimate of
58,000 hectares needing to be improved and 6,000 hectares re-created.
The Programme, though managed by EN, is delivered through individual
area project applications prepared by a variety of local or regional
consortia.
By 1 June 2000, HLF had committed to spend £10.7
million for the restoration and management of 30,400 hectares
and re-creation of 2,000 hectares of Lowland Heath habitat.
Effective methods of monitoring and evaluating
progress on achieving HAP targets through this programme are now
being put in place as more projects come on-line.
Based on the experience gained through this
programme HLF is now in discussion with EN and other habitat lead
agencies on an agreed way forward to grant aid other habitats.
From 2001 HLF propose to broaden the approach
to funding projects which contribute to Habitat Action Plan targets
so as to provide direct funding for projects within a number of
other habitat areas such as Woodlands, Grasslands and Wetlands,
where such projects can demonstrate specific contribution to national
HAP targets and are set within a framework agreed by both HLF
and the HAP Steering Group. Guidance for such a framework is currently
being prepared by English Nature for Grassland.
2.4 National Biodiversity Network
For a long period it has always been the ambition
of wildlife agencies and learned societies to establish national
standards of recording the distribution of species and habitats.
Funding for this vitally important work has never been sufficient
from successive governments. Many earlier records were carried
out by expert amateur naturalists at local level and are maintained
in a variety of ways and at differing levels. This important backlog
of data is often inaccessible to others and there is concern that
the level of expertise in this vital voluntary sector is declining
in some areas. Significant resources at national level are required
to standardise data, set up IT systems and manage the programme
of data collection and entry. HLF has been in discussion with
the NBN Consortium, who are tasked with this daunting programme,
as to what project areas HLF might consider eligible for grant
support, the understanding that lottery funding should not substitute
for core government funding.
Recently HLF Trustees have agreed to support
in principle within the NBN umbrella applications for projects
relating to: the training of volunteers in standards of data collection
and entry; the dissemination of information from NBN through educational
or other programmes and the setting up of local or regional record
centres where these can be identified and prioritised through
further needs assessment by the Consortium. Projects in these
areas would deliver the Fund's key priorities including education
and access. Whilst no guarantee of particular funding levels has
been discussed or agreed in advance, it would be reasonable for
HLF to anticipate requests for funding in the order of £5
million to £10 million for this sector over the period 2001-06.
2.5 Access, Education and Sustainability
Though few specific applications for revenue
or capital grants to support this type of project have been received
they are an integral requirement for all land and therefore all
Biodiversity projects. HLF is very keen to encourage land projects
relating to access, education and sustainability, particularly
where they are innovative and "cutting edge" using new
ideas, machinery or management techniques and involve the lcoal
community and volunteers.
HLF has recently agreed with The Wildlife Trusts
and RSPB that having, in the past, supported the backlog of necessary
and urgent works to wildlife reserves, future applications should
demonstrate a substantial swing towards people related or educational
projects, as against acquisition or standard conservation management
which they as landowners or managers have a certain duty and responsibility
for care.
3. WAY FORWARD
3.1 HAP Pilot Project
The Heritage Lottery Fund as a result of the
£20 million grant scheme for funding the targets of one BAP
Habitat Action—Lowland Heathland is, with English Nature
as its partners in the programme, in a unique position in being
able to provide DETR with a relevant pilot project for evaluation
should that be required.
3.2 Habitat Data
Due to seemingly inadequate habitat data available
to set the targets for BAP: Habitat Action Plans, the current
statistics may not give an accurate reflection of the extent of
the problem. There is an urgent need for further survey work and
systems capable of storing and widely disseminating such information.
MAFF who are already storing and developing large quantities of
integrated land use data, and have capacity and skills, are particularly
relevant for habitat mapping to aid the switch to agri-environment
payments. This should also relate to the National Vegetation Classification
data and NBN projects. Such "needs assessment" work
in this as in other heritage fields would enable HLF as a purely
funding body to better target its resources in a strategic way
to meet the areas of highest need.
3.3 HAPs
There appears to be some confusion in the sector
caused by the simultaneous development of local and national Habitat
Action Plans by a wide variety of groups. The local plans may
not demonstrate sufficient links to national plans developed by
the lead bodies. The BAP/HAP Steering Groups do not seem to be
adequately resourced to take a pro-active role in enabling the
delivery of HAP targets at local level. This should be addressed
UK wide. Improvements here would also help the focussing of HLF
resources.
3.4 NBN
The National Biodiversity Network will need
to receive increased government funding over the next 10 years
to provide a major UK nature conservation data resource on species
distribution. NBN would be of substantial use to a wide range
of agencies and organisations, particularly for monitoring, evaluation,
environmental impact and sustainability. At present there are
few reliable base lines from which to analyse the effects of social
and economic change on species diversity. Again this would add
value to the access and educational projects which HLF will be
able to support.
June 2000
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