Wildlife on the move need corridors of climate change

As climate change forces our wildlife to find new places to live, what can we do to help these shifting species reach their new homes? Wildlife corridors and stepping stones can link up the UK's network of protected nature conservation areas - but only if the Government improves planning and funding schemes to help land managers create them. Mike Harley, English Nature's Climate Change Adviser, says: 'Wildlife is finding it difficult to migrate across Britain's fragmented landscape. Part of our research is looking at this issue and we have set up computer models which will help land managers and planners decide where best to place the links between protected nature conservation areas. Spatial planning is the key to managing the movement of wildlife across our countryside, which will be crucial to their survival over the next few decades.'

Tanya Olmeda-Hodge, Country Land and Business Association's Head of Environment, says: 'For the past year we have been urging the Government to 'climate change proof' policies, most recently at the first meeting of the Rural Climate Change Panel. Policies need to take account of future climates - an excellent example of this is the agri-environment scheme, which could be used to encourage land managers to help wildlife on the move, especially if this requires a change in farming practices. While wildlife may need specific landscapes to live in, farmers are equally constrained by the need to farm their land according to their own business needs. If the UK needs more wildlife corridors in the future, the Government should start taking a serious look at how it plans to fund the cost of reshaping the land.'

Simple changes in the landscape, such as the addition of ponds, ditches and small copses of trees can entice wildlife to seek out new habitats, according to a recent climate change study. Land managers can also make use of grassland, wetland and scrub vegetation, strategically placed to provide effective stepping stones.

The study, commissioned by conservation organisations in Britain and Ireland, has also found that whilst climate change threatens some species, it also provides opportunities for others. The mountain ringlet butterfly found on montane heath is at particular risk from climate change; it quite literally has nowhere to go and faces extinction in Britain. Beech woodland in south-east England is also likely to be affected, as beech trees are susceptible to drought. However, lowland calcareous grassland should fare better, with many species including the common rock rose benefiting from climate change.

For further information contact:

Tanya Olmeda-Hodge, CLA Head of Environment, on tel: 020 7460 7923

Stuart Burgess, EN Press Officer, on tel: 01733 455190, mobile: 07970 098005, email: press@english-nature.org.uk

Jenny Gimpel, CLA Press Officer, on tel: 020 7460 7936, mobile: 07855 788985, e-mail: jennyg@cla.org.uk

The MONARCH (Modelling Natural Resource Responses to Climate Change) study, commissioned by conservation organisations led by English Nature, has developed computerised models to estimate changes in species distributions under different climate change conditions. The study covers the impacts of climate change on a broad range of species (including plants, insects, birds and amphibians) and their habitats across Britain and Ireland, and considers the implications for nature conservation policies. http://www.ukcip.org.uk/model_nat_res/model_nat_res.html