Welcome to Wild About the North West: A Biodiversity Audit of North West England.

This Audit was first published in hard copy in 1999. Please note this data has not been reviewed in transferring the Audit to this website so inaccuracies in the original version will have been duplicated, these will be rectified at the Audit's next review.

Note: There have been updates to the categories and definitions, detailed in the Regional Target section of this website. These have not been included here.

The tables of habitats and species by local authority and natural area contained in the original version of this Audit are available to download from these Audit pages, along with a key to these tables.

This Audit was published in 1999 and has not yet been updated. 

Executive Summary

The Audit contains the information available in 1998 on important wildlife species and habitats in North West England.

A total of 82 habitats, of which 37 are UK Key Habitats or their equivalents, have been identified in North West England. Using the best data available, profiles have been written about each of them. These define the habitat, discuss its nature conservation value, and identify issues which may impact on its condition in the future (this includes both its improvement and its deterioration). UK Broad Habitat types and UK Key Habitats are highlighted and any other relevant information available in the 1995 UK Biodiversity Steering Group report has been utilised here. Tables show the occurrence of each habitat by local authority area and also in terms of Natural England's 'Natural Areas'.

Profiles have been written for 97 species of particular conservation importance including UK Priority Species and endemic species which occur in the region. Where information is available, these include the current regional, national and international status of each species and any issues which may affect its survival. Tables show the occurrence of these species by local authority area and by Natural Area.