4.7 Biodiversity Regulation on biodiversity in the built environment is limited, though it is recognised as an integral part of sustainability standards such as Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM. The UK Habitats Regulations (2010) also requires increasing protection for species, including those using buildings for roosting / nesting etc. Despite the lack of regulation, it is becoming increasingly recognised that biodiversity is integral to sustainability goals and objectives. In 2010 Jane Davidson, the then Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing, stated:
maximising the economic and social potential of the environment for the longer term through an ‘ecosystems’ approach. It provides a new system for design and maintenance of the natural and built environment with an understanding that the ecosystem services provided by nature can help to cool the urban heat island, manage storm and surface water, reduce air and water pollutants, improve environmental performance of buildings and provide amenities and health, as well as supporting biodiversity. Future requirements for integration of this approach will become more stringent in
Wales through the emerging Environment (Wales) Bill9 and the Planning (Wales) Bill10 and the development of payments for ecosystem services will put increasing pressure on built environment professionals to understand and make use of the ecosystem services approach. Increasingly extreme climatic events will begin to focus attention on the interdependency of climate and biodiversity / ecosystems and this is likely to drive the capability needs of the built environment sector in the future11. The use of green and blue infrastructure is now a key part of urban design and management. Opportunities for
“it is clear that the work to date has not been enough to enable us to reach the important and challenging targets set for biodiversity” (Welsh Government, 2010b, pg 20) The Welsh Government is taking a new approach to these issues through developing an Environment Framework; A Living Wales (and subsequently Sustaining a Living Wales) which takes a more holistic vision of natural environmental management that includes
9 http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/consmanagement/natural-resources-management/environment-bill/?lang=en 10 http://gov.wales/topics/planning/legislation/planningbill-old/?lang=en 11 Green and blue infrastructure is the network of green (land based) and blue (water based) spaces and other environmental features that aim to bring ecological diversity and other ecosystem services to urban areas.
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