The review of the Carmarthenshire LBAP is complete, pending additional information that may require further actions/changes to the plans.

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 work, Tir Gofal, BWW 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 these will be focused, and potentially achievable over the duration of the BAP.

The Wales Biodiversity Partnership (WBP) has drawn up nine habitat groupings and it was agreed that 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, water vole, grouped bat plan, hedgehog, otter, dormouse, red squirrel, marsh fritillary, brown hairstreak, small-flowered catchfly, Deptford pink, barn owl (local priority), brown hare, little-ringed plover and amphibians and reptiles.

The action plan will be entered and reported 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 the existing Carmarthenshire LBAP and others.

Habitat actions should look to do one or more of the following: maintain the extent of the habitat; improve its condition, restore or 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 will be generic action plans for Education and Raising Awareness, Policy and Legislation and Data Collection and Management.

Nationally the 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.