Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan 2022-27 - Other - Page 49
A12. Cairngorms Nature Index
This Partnership Plan is underpinned by robust evidence and data, ensuring that the activities we are
proposing lead to demonstrable improvements on the ground. Data will also help identify and inform any
changes that are required in our delivery mechanisms as we move towards 2045.
The Cairngorms Nature Index is crucial to this process, providing a baseline for the quality and extent of key
ecosystems in the National Park and a robust framework to monitor change and evaluate success over time.
We will use this data to better target resources and action in the National Park, and to understand the
impact that our policies and projects are having to ensure that we are able to meet our 2030 and 2045
targets for biodiversity.
OBJECTIVE
Develop a more complete understanding of the National Park’s
species, habitats and ecosystems, and help monitor long-term
progress through a dedicated Cairngorms Nature Index.
TARGET
•
Develop and roll out the Cairngorms Nature Index by 2024.
ACTIONS
BY 2027
•
Establish the Cairngorms Nature Index.
•
Establish a Cairngorms Nature Atlas / data portal.
•
Monitor changes in Special Landscape Qualities.
•
Heritage Horizons: Cairngorms 2030 programme (see page 12).
PARTNERS
(alongside the
Park Authority)
Cairngorms Nature partnership
A13. Species recovery
The Cairngorms National Park is home to 25% of the UK’s rare and endangered species. Ecosystem restoration
is key for delivering in the medium to long term, but we must at the same time protect vulnerable species
and ensure they get back on a sustainable footing, less reliant on targeted action and recovering within a
network of habitats.
The scale of the climate and nature crises we face means that some tough choices will need to be made,
particularly around single species interventions within overall ecological restoration. We also need to work
hard to make sure that illegal activity that impacts species (including raptor persecution) is stopped and made
culturally unacceptable.
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