Habitat Biodiversity Audit (HBA)

View from birdwatching hide over wetland habitat

View from birdwatching hide over wetland habitat - Mark Hamblin/2020VISION

About Us

Habitat Biodiversity Audit (HBA)

The Habitat Biodiversity Audit (HBA) is a partnership project which was established back in 1995 and is still going strong today. 

It is managed by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, funded by local authorities in our region, and based at Warwickshire County Council’s Ecological Services offices in Warwick. With over 25 years of data the HBA is a world leading project that provides both up to date accurate records of habitats and a record of changes in land use over time. Over the years it has been endorsed as ‘ground breaking’ by a range of external organisations and featured in numerous publications heralded as the ‘standard to follow’

Our remit at HBA

The HBA’s remit is to produce a continuous revision of the Phase 1 Habitat Survey map which began in 1995. Phase 1 mapping is important to inform local planning decisions, local green and blue infrastructure planning and to identify potential local wildlife sites. The Phase 1 data has been used for academic research and wildlife projects as well as for planning purposes. The Phase 1 habitat map has been maintained and updated by dedicated staff, ecological trainees and volunteers. 

As well as this work the HBA team also carry out a range of different project work linked to their area of expertise, such as providing reports to local parish councils and businesses on what wildlife lives in their patch.  This work brings in additional income to support the project and ensure it is sustainable in the long term.

Local Wildlife Sites

Local Wildlife Sites are non-statutory wildlife rich areas which are then selected or declined locally by a panel of local nature experts, using robust scientifically determined criteria and detailed ecological surveys. The selection of a Local Wildlife Site is based on a set of criteria for both scientific and cultural importance that reflects the local importance of the site for its rarity for both plant and animal species; educational value; community and amenity value; historical and landscape value.  Local wildlife sites can be privately or publicly owned and include a wide range of wildlife habitats, for example ancient woodlands, wetland meadows, species rich hedgerows, wildlife ponds, former quarries and road side verges. Some Local Wildlife Sites are the equivalent of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in their own right and can act as buffers to rare habitats or as habitat corridors for wildlife to move across the landscape. 

There are now more than 600 Local Wildlife Sites, which cover an area of around 7,000 hectares across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull. You can see an interactive map showing the data they have gathered here.

The basis of the local wildlife sites project which provides the authority and recognition of the process is The Green Book: Guidance for the Selection of Local Wildlife Sites in Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull

As the HBA has been running for over 25 years it provides an unrivalled view of Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull and underpins strategic decision making for all the partners involved in the project.  Warwickshire Wildlife Trust identified its priority Living Landscape areas as a result of the information the HBA provided, and each of the Local Authorities that provides financial support for the project uses the information produced to make informed decisions on where their strategic allocations for development (housing and industry) are located.

Nature Recovery Networks

A Nature Recovery Network should be part of the way a country plans its use of space, so that nature’s recovery is prioritised.

There are 2 steps:

  1. Local mapping should identify where healthy wildlife habitat is already, where it should be in the future and how it will be established, protected restored, and joined together to achieve recovery. 
  2. The maps should then be used to plan where to take action for nature, to inform local planning decisions and to target investment of agricultural funding, and biodiversity “net gain” contributions from housebuilders. The map-based approach is also key to deciding where best to deliver nature-based solutions, for supporting climate change mitigation and adaption and for helping tackle health inequalities.
The HBA is the only recognised best practice model for monitoring and auditing biodiversity by the European Union Committee of Regions (December 2006).