Natural Environment

The variety of wildlife in North Devon's Biosphere Reserve is amazing and it is home to a number of rare and characteristic habitats and species. These are not just confined to places like Local Nature Reserves or Sites of Special Scientific Interest, but are all around us.

Issues

Through successive post-war policies of land improvement, there has been a decline in biodiversity. Fortunately, traditional family farming had reduced the negative impacts to a degree. The loss in biodiversity in some areas has recently begun to recover through interventions such as environmental stewardship schemes. Noted problems include

• Scrub encroachment on the dune systems
• Saltmarsh erosion in the estuary and loss associated with coastal squeeze
• Change in marine wildlife such as disease attacks on sea fans near Lundy
• Heavy exploitation of crab and lobster
• Fragmentation of habitats is reducing the resilience of some of the ecosystems
• Problems of diffuse pollution impacting on the aquatic wildlife in the rivers and estuary
• Pressure for development along the coastline
• Unquantified impacts arising from climate change

The Biosphere's landscape is the stunning product of natural processes and people's management over thousands of years. It is one of our greatest cultural assets.

Most of the coast in the Biosphere Reserve is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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Projects and links

Nature Improvement Area Project

Taw River Improvement Project
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Biodiversity Offsetting

Marine Conservation Zones

Local Nature Reserves

Bioblitz

Biosphere Swift Project

Biosphere Barn Owl Project
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Community Wildlife Fund

Habitats

Local Nature Partnership
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Marine


AONB coastline near Spekes Mill