London Biodiversity
Action Plan
(2021–2026)

🎯Goal: Preserve and enhance biodiversity to promote higher living standards in the city

Main Issues

  1. Open space and habitat management

  2. Built environment

  3. Education and Community engagement

  4. Data collection

🌿checkmarks:

What do we look for in a good biodiversity plan?

Assessment of Current Biodiversity: Conducting a biodiversity inventory to document species such as local flora and fauna, and identifying endangered species.

Goals and Objectives: Setting a goal to increase the population of a specific species or plants, such as the …

Stakeholder Engagement: Organizing community workshops to gather input on local biodiversity issues, similar to initiatives by organizations like the Nature Conservancy, which often involve local communities in conservation planning.

Conservation Strategies: Implementing strategies like creating protected areas

Monitoring and Evaluation: Using citizen science programs, allowing for adaptive management of conservation strategies based on real-time data.

🌿What does the london biodiversity plan manage to do?

  • Assesses current biodiversity by conducting a study about plant and insect biodiversity

  • Setting a goal to protect and survey the created biodiversity roofs

  • Involving local groups such as different City of London departments, Friends of City Gardens, Barbican wildlife group and Greenspace information for Greater London

  • Creating protected areas and mapping endangered ones

  • Involving citizens in the process through events, activities and volunteering opportunities.

🔧 RECOMMENDATIONS

KEEP:

  • The audit-identified core themes of the BAP: improved greenspace connectivity, diversification of habitats and strategic habitat management, and raising the profile of ecological issues in the minds of people who access/develop in the City.

  • The creation of a well-defined “Partnership Group” bringing together community, business, ecology professionals and relevant departments to support delivery.

  • Use of the London Plan 2021’s metrics such as the Urban Greening Factor and requirement for biodiversity net gain for major developments.

FIX:

  • Expand the original BAP’s focus on “greenspace connectivity and species distribution” to explicitly include fauna-oriented metrics, e.g., population trends for urban mammals, birds, amphibians (an audit noted under-recording of species).

  • Strengthen the monitoring framework: the original plan notes under-recording of species and a need for better data. So introduce clear targets for data collection, regular review (every 3-5 years), and adaptive management.

ADD:

  1. Mandatory wildlife-friendly design in major developments.

  2. Habitat connectivity action plan.

  3. Long-term resource and maintenance pledges.

  4. Education & engagement extension — build on the “raising the profile of ecological issues” aim by integrating biodiversity education into school curricula, housing/development consultation processes, and community programmes.

  5. Species & habitat priority list update.

This analysis has been conducted by the participants of FYEG’s Summer Camp 2025, funded by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.