Welcome to the Berkshire Local Nature Partnership (BLNP). We are working together to create a sustainable, healthy and vibrant Berkshire by promoting the conservation and enhancement of nature, and the benefits we receive from a healthy environment. We do this by:
- creating a strategic vision for the natural environment in Berkshire
- offering a single, unified voice for the natural environment in decision making
- improving awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing nature
- providing a network of advice and expertise relating to the environment
On this website you will be able to find out more about our Partnership, the services and benefits that we all receive from a healthy natural environment, the work that is already happening in Berkshire to protect our natural environment, why we must act now to protect it and how you can get involved to help us achieve our vision.
What do we mean by 'natural environment'?
The natural environment includes wildlife, lakes, rivers and man-made waterways, urban green space, open countryside, gardens, street trees, forests and farmed land. It underpins our survival and our prosperity, providing our food, our fuel, the air we breathe, and the water we drink. The natural environment includes natural systems that cycle our water, clean out pollutants, produce healthy soil, protect us from floods and regulate our climate. The term 'biodiversity' is often used to describe the variety and abundance of our natural environment.
What do we mean by 'natural services'?
Natural services are services or benefits that we receive from the natural environment. They include the provision of clean drinking water, decomposition of waste, the production of food, regulation of climate, and the provision of spaces for recreation. Many of these services and benefits are being assigned an economic value in order to inform decision making. These services are also known as 'ecosystem services' because they are provided by an ecosystem. Natural capital is the stock of natural ecosystems from which services are delivered.
Ox-eye daisy with bee by Nigel Smith
Header photo credits:
Kingfisher by Mervyn Chilton (Flickr )
Child writing poem by BBOWT
Cows by BlueSky Images 2013 (Flickr)