The Carmarthenshire Biodiversity Action Plan is being revised. The new plan (2010–2014) will provide the focus of the Partnership’s work for the duration of the plan. The revised action plans are now on the Carmarthenshire Biodiversity website: www.carmarthenshirebiodiversity.co.uk 

The plan is also on in the Biodiversity Action Reporting System (BARS) website, which is available to all to view. The website is at http://www.ukbap-reporting.org.uk/ You can look at other county BAPs on this site as well.

Nationally, the Wales Biodiversity Partnership (WBP) has formed ‘ecosystems groups’ and ‘species expert groups’ and information/guidance will be fed down to local partnerships which we can consider and incorporate/take on board as necessary. Therefore there may well be further additions and amendments to the plans as we receive this information.

It was agreed that our LBAP review would focus on local action agreed by the partnership. It would not include action towards habitat targets that is undertaken as part of the statutory organisations 'everyday work', e.g. SSSI management, Tir Gofal, FCW’s Better Woodlands for Wales grants, etc. These actions will be entered and reported on separately by those statutory organisations and linked to action plans on the Carmarthenshire LBAP pages on BARS.

There may be far fewer actions but hopefully these will be focused and potentially achievable over the duration of the BAP.

All partner organisations were contacted for their input into the revision process.

The Wales Biodiversity Partnership (WBP) has drawn up nine habitat groupings and the Carmarthenshire LBAP will follow these groupings. These are:

— Woodland 
— Upland Habitats 
— Freshwater 
— Wetlands 
— Farmland 
— Lowland Grassland and Heathland 
— Brownfield/Urban 
— Coastal and Marine habitats and species.

Species have been grouped in with habitats as far as possible as often the main action to conserve species is achieved through habitat management. However a number of species will have individual action plans:

— tree sparrow 
— nightjar 
— lapwing
— little ringed plover 
— brown hare 
— water vole 
— grouped bat plan 
— hedgehog 
— otter 
— dormouse 
— red squirrel 
— marsh fritillary 
— brown hairstreak butterfly
— small-flowered catchfly 
— deptford pink
— amphibians and reptiles
— barn owl (local priority).

Habitat actions should look to do one or more of the following:

— maintain the extent of the habitat; 
— improve its condition, 
— restore the habitat 
— expand the habitat.

For species actions should aim to:

— expand the range of the population and/or 
— increase the population numbers.

Actions could include survey/monitoring, site management, planning, data collection, raising awareness.

There are also generic action plans for Education and Raising Awareness, Policy and Legislation and Data Collection and Management.