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Morecambe Bay Limestones and Wetlands NIA
NIA grant awarded: £610,763
Additional resources provided by this NIA: £3,508,400
The Morecambe Bay Limestones and Wetlands Nature Improvement Area (NIA) will bring about a step change for nature conservation in one of Britain’s most important areas for biodiversity.
The first year
Progress from year one of the NIA can be found in this summary: (111kb)
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About the NIA
This area in northwest England is internationally significant for wildlife and has a unique transition of priority limestone and wetland habitats which supports exceptional populations of birds, flowers and butterflies.
A 20-year Vision is shared by a committed and well supported NIA partnership: “The Morecambe Bay NIA is an exceptionally high quality landscape that is rich in wildlife, resilient to climate change and provides a range of valued ecosystem services to local communities, the economy and visitors. Joint local action is delivering nationally significant benefits for wildlife and people contributing to a sustainable future for the area. Landowners, famers, communities and businesses are at the heart of this success.”
Objectives
The objectives of the Morecambe Bay Limestones and Wetlands NIA are to:
Work with over 100 local communities and businesses by 2015 to promote the growth of a sustainable low carbon economy linked to the natural environment
Work closely with land managers to enhance and restore over 1000ha of priority limestone and wetland habitat by 2015, creating a robust network of high quality sites that deliver a range of ecosystem services
Within sustainable land management systems, buffer, connect and create ‘stepping stones’ between high quality sites to allow development of a coherent ecological network that is resilient to climate change
Leave a legacy for future enhancements to the natural environment through improved and effective integration with the planning system and sharing lessons learnt
Connect people with nature by involving local communities in shaping habitat restoration schemes and providing a series of inspiring opportunities for people to experience and get involved with the natural world.
There is an urgent need and a huge opportunity to deliver on a scale that has been unachievable until now. The NIA partnership will work together to ensure a lasting legacy delivering major improvements to the ecological network, inspiring community action and developing sustainable farming, woodfuel and wildlife tourism business models.
Further information
For further information contact lucy@arnsidesilverdaleaonb.org.uk
www.morecambebay.org.uk/whats_new/M'Bay_NIA.html
