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land occupied and biodiversity impact
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- Land occupied and biodiversity impact
- In line with the three-year community woodlands plan, establish 25 hectares of new woodland and 3.5 kilometres of
new or enhanced footpath corridors during 2001. ACCEPTABLE PROGRESS
- Utilise the surveying methodology developed in the Kenworthy Pilot Study to carry out biodiversity audits at Salford,
Wigan and Trafford community woodlands, and make the results freely available on the Internet by the year-end. ACCEPTABLE PROGRESS
- Achieve target of raising, through the RSPB Visa credit card, over £2 million for Britain's threatened wetlands over the
period 1999 to 2001 inclusive. ACCEPTABLE PROGRESS
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performance
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commentary
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Background The world is losing biodiversity at an everincreasing
rate as a result of human activity. The UK has lost
over 100 species this century. Land occupied by the bank
amounts to more than 480,000ft2 (primarily leasehold).
However, the amount of land subject to significantly enhanced
biodiversity as a result of bank donations is seventy-five times greater.
The Co-operative Bank has no significant land holdings of
its own.
UK Wetlands The bank and the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds (RSPB) have raised £1,510,638 for Britain's
threatened wetlands over the three years 1999-2001. The
RSPB receives £18 for every account opened, and a further
£2.50 if the card is still being used six months later. In addition,
the RSPB receives 25p for every £100 spent using the card. It
is not possible to state publicly exactly how many hectares
have been secured and improved as a result of credit card
donations. RSPB believes that such information could hinder
their ability to secure future land at a competitive price.
However, RSPB is happy to state publicly that bank monies
have contributed towards the conversion of 300 hectares of
arable land to wetland in East Anglia via the creation of 8km of
bank, 21km of channels, 20 acres of shallow and deep pools
and the planting of 250,000 reeds. Over the period 1996 to
2001, nesting pairs of Reed Warblers, Sedge Warblers and
Reed Bunting have increased from 4 to 250, 6 to 122 and 6 to
67 respectively. This habitat will become increasingly important
as existing coastal wetlands are destroyed by rising sea levels.
Since 1997, the bank has been the Species Champion for the
bittern (and is one of only 18 commercial companies to
support the Government's Species Championing Scheme to
date) and has been working with the RSPB to restore and
extend reedbed habitats at Wigan Flashes, where the bittern is
known to over-winter. In 1997, the UK's population of breeding
bitterns was estimated as just 11. The number of calling or
booming males heard in the country now stands at 29. During
2001, the bank recommitted to being the Species Champion
for the bittern, and will provide financial support of £30,000
over the period 2001 to 2003 inclusive. This is in addition to
the £510,637 raised for Britain's wetlands via the RSPB credit
card in 2001. In September, the bank sponsored the RSPB's
fourth Gala Charity Concert, which was held in Manchester's
Bridgewater Hall and broadcast live on Radio 2.
UK woodlands In 1997, the bank committed £300,000 to the
development of four community woodlands in Greater
Manchester (the North West of England has one of the lowest
ratios of tree cover in England). The four sites were all formerly
landfill sites or open cast mines. The total area under
management amounts to more than 250 hectares
(approximately one square mile). During 2001, just less than
13ha of new woodland and 3.5km of new or enhanced
footpath corridors were created. It was not possible to plant
the scheduled 8ha on Oxbow and 4.8ha on Brookhouse as the
recycled organic waste supplied as a planting medium
required a longer period of 'composting down' than envisaged.
Planting of the remaining 12.8ha is expected to take place in
the autumn of 2002.
During 2001, despite early complications caused by the foot
and mouth crisis, data collection for the biodiversity audits
at Brookhouse, Amberswood and Oxbow was completed. This
complements the audit of Kenworthy Wood completed in
2000. The audits were undertaken by the Lancashire Wildlife
Trust and recorded, for example, that Amberswood is already
home to 51 bird species of Conservation Importance and three
UK Priority Species (Grey Partridge, Sky Lark and Reed
Bunting). Of the 13 species of dragonfly recorded on site, the
Emperor Dragonfly was noted as being rare within the region.
The mammal survey highlighted the presence of water voles,
classified as a UK Priority Species. Water voles have suffered
a serious long-term decline and have disappeared from nearly
70% of their historical sites. This decline is continuing and is
the most dramatic population decline of any British mammal.
For further details of the biodiversity monitoring undertaken at
the bank's four community woodlands please refer to The
Co-operative Bank's new dedicated website.i
Tropical rainforest In 2001, the bank extended its range of
green mortgages. Every year that a customer holds a
mortgage, the bank pays Climate Careii to offset the carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions arising from each household's use of
electricity. During 2001, this equated to a total carbon offset of
1,163 tonnes of CO2. To date, all monies have supported a
rainforest restoration programme in Kibale National Park in
Uganda, which has one of the highest primate densities in the
world, including the endangered chimpanzee. Not only will the
renewed forest 'absorb' CO2 from the atmosphere, it will also
enhance an important wildlife habitat by over 3ha. Looking
forward, it is anticipated that the bank's next project will involve
facilitating a number of Kenyan tea estates to switch from fossil
fuels to biomass-derived energy. This fulfils the bank's
commitment to look at projects other than forestry when
considering carbon offset programmes. Further details of the
bank's mortgages are available on the bank's website iii.
Total impact The amount of land with significantly increased
biodiversity as a result of the bank's initiatives is seventy-five
times greater than the land occupied by its operations, and is
now almost 350 hectares.
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- www.co-operative-woodlands.co.uk
- www.co2.org
- www.co-operativebank.co.uk/mortgages/mortgages_environ.html
To follow any of the links mentioned within the Partnership Report 2001, please visit the links page.
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new target
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- Ensure that the 12.8ha of planting still outstanding at Oxbow and Brookhouse is undertaken by the year-end.
Liz Thompson, Ecological Analyst
- Raise, through the RSPB Visa credit card, over £2 million for Britain's threatened wetlands over the period 1999 to 2002
inclusive.
Jim Walker, Head of Marketing Relationships
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