Welcome to the West Midlands Biodiversity Partnership Newsletter.

In this message:

	New Web Site
	Regional Opportunity Map
	Annual Biodiversity Conference
	Securing Biodiversity - A New Delivery Framework
	Phytophthora ramorum

New Web Site

The West Midlands Biodiversity Partnership web site has been completely redesigned with lots of new information, reports and links to relevant sites. After a lot of planning and hard work the site has now gone live and we welcome any views you have on the contents. The web site and these regular e-bulletins will form the main means of communicating with partners in the future. The site will be maintained to ensure that all new information is made available immediately. Minutes of Partnership meetings and all relevant documents and reports will be loaded on to the site regularly. Please feel free to let us know of any relevant document you feel should be added to the site or news item you would like to include in the e-bulletin.

Jeff Edwards

Regional Biodiversity Coordinator

Regional Opportunity Map

The Regional Opportunity Map is now almost finalised and ready for promotion. The most up to date version can be found on the new WMBP web site.  This shows areas considered to have the greatest opportunity for landscape scale enhancement including SRCs, urban areas and growth points.  The opportunity areas are shown overlaid on top of the regional biodiversity map.  More information is provided on the WMBP web site

Annual Biodiversity Conference

The Partnership will be holding the 7th Annual Biodiversity Conference on the 23rd April at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham.   This year the focus of the conference will be on the implementation of the  Biodiversity Duty  show casing best practice from across the region and beyond.  Natural England will also be launching the West Midlands 'State of the Natural Environment' Report.  Further information will follow.

Please make sure you pencil the date into your diary.

Securing Biodiversity - A New Delivery Framework

Defra and Natural England have recently launched a new document entitled Securing Biodiveristy.  This sets out a Framework for delivering Biodiversity across England. The document states that regional and local biodiversity partnerships are a critical component of the framework for delivery, more info at the WMBP web site.

Phytophthora ramorum

Phytophthora ramorum has been discovered  on heathland at Cannock Chase.  More information on the threats posed to trees, woodlands and heathlands is available at the defra web site including a very useful information leaflet.  Further information will be provided on the WMBP web site when we gain a better understanding of the situation and the ecological consequences.