Biodiversity Planning Toolkit

Developed by a partnership of United Kingdom government bodies and environment organisations. Coordinated by the Association of Local Government Ecologists.

The toolkit provides users with detailed information on ecosystems and scenarios showing how biodiversity can be managed.

Toolkit

It identifies categories of habitats and species found in the United Kingdom. It has detailed information on their features, existing environmental legislation protecting them and assistance with planning applications.

It identifies different types of ecosystem services which it describes as “the products of natural systems from which people derive benefits, including goods and services, some of which can be valued economically, and others which have a non-economic value”. These ecosystem services are found in: Woodlands, Freshwaters, Uplands and grasslands, Coasts and seas, Urban ecosystems and Farmland.

There is also a Biodiversity Offsetting calculator. This allows the user to calculate the negative impact their project will have on a specific ecosystem and then identify another equivalent ecosystem (using the calculator’s methodology) that needs to be restored or conserved. This allows the user to offset the impact of their project.

A Mitigation Calendar shows users the best time in the calendar year to carry out work designed for mitigation, compensation or enhancement purposes.