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WELCOME TO CHESHIRE BIODIVERSITY
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CHESHIRE REGION BIODIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP MEMBER DETAILS:
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WILDLIFE IN CHESHIRE'S AGENDA 21 |
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Local Agenda 21 is an opportunity to improve everyone's quality of life. It is a plan to balance economic, social and environmental well being. In 1992, at the Rio de Janerrio Earth Summit over 170 nations signed up to a voluntary agreement called "Agenda 21". This document is an agenda for the 21st Century, made up of numerous chapters each detailing the role that different parts of society could play. In the UK, Agenda 21 has been adopted by requiring local authorities to develop a Local Agenda 21. This is a local plan to improve people's quality of life for the 21st Century, therefore linking local and global issues.
Cheshire has been developing it's Local Agenda 21 programme since 1994. Both Cheshire County Council and the six District Councils in Cheshire have all developed Local Agenda 21 Plans. Cheshire County Council invited over 40 representatives from public, private and community organisations to develop a county-wide plan. This partnership is called the Sustainable Cheshire Forum. Smaller topic groups within the forum were established to focus on particular issues within the overall strategy, including a group for wildlife.
The wildlife group has developed Action Plans to focus on issues of concern and these were used to form Cheshire's Agenda 21 Strategy and Action Plan, launched in 1996. The Countdown programme was launched to address 3 of the 8 wildlife targets in their action plan. These action plans have short, medium and long term targets and are reviewed annually by the Sustainable Cheshire Forum. Progress against key indicators has traditionally been published annually in Cheshire's Check Up document, which last year was replaced by Cheshire's State of the Environment Report.
In 2000, UK government introduced legislation to direct local authorities to develop Local Strategic Partnerships and Community Plans. In Cheshire, the Cheshire Partnership was established as the Local Strategic Partnership and a Community Strategy was produced in 2002. Much of this work has built upon the successes of Cheshire's Agenda 21 Strategy and Action Plan and the Sustainable Cheshire Forum. Cheshire’s Agenda 21 Strategy was updated with Cheshire's Environmental Action Plan in 2003.
The Sustainable Cheshire Forum remains to act as champion for sustainable environment issues underneath this umberella, including wildlife and biodiversity issues. Links between the two forums are strong, with several members of the SCF present on the Cheshire Partnership, including Chris Mahon, who is Vice Chair.
As part of Cheshire's Agenda 21 programme an environmental review called Eco Audit has been developed. This encourages positive environmental improvement including enhancing land for wildlife or biodiversity. Since 1997, over 600 audits have been completed.
Contact:
Michele Burrow
Environmental Co-ordinator
Cheshire County Council
Backford Hall
Chester CH1 6PZ
Phone: 01244 603125
Web: www.sustainablecheshire.org.uk
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