Even if you are familiar with the world of ecology, it is often riddled with opaque jargon and an abundance of acronyms. Here we will define and de-mystify the lingo so you can also make sense of these terms!
Assessment types
· BIA = A Biodiversity Impact Assessment is the reporting mechanism that details BNG results for a development. It describes the habitats to be lost, created, and/or enhanced as part of the development. BNG is the result of the Statutory Metric released by DEFRA, and the BIA describes how the numbers were calculated.
· BGP = Biodiversity Gain Plan is a statutory template produced by Defra for completion by an ecologist to clearly set out how habitats within a proposed development site will be maintained, who is responsible for creating or enhancing the habitats and who is responsible for maintenance, management and monitoring of the habitats.
· BNG = Biodiversity Net Gain is the sum of the biodiversity value of the site before development, minus the value of the damage caused by the development, plus the biodiversity value to be restored. It uses the UKHab (UK Habitats) classification system. All developments in England are required to achieve at least 10% in net gain under the Environment Act 2021.
· BREEAM = Stands for 'Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology'. It is the methodology which sets the world standard for rating systems of buildings and works as an environmental assessment method.
· CEMPs / LEMPs / HMMPs / EES = All variations on the same theme, either pre- or post- construction ensuring biodiversity is protected and enhanced. The HMMP goes into detail about habitat management or creation to conserve and enhance biodiversity and the specification and locations of ecological enhancements. A legal agreement (s106) is required for off-site or on-site gains to ensure they are secured for at least 30 years.
o Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP): Biodiversity
o Landscape and Ecological Management Plan (LEMP)
o Habitat/Biodiversity Management and Monitoring Plan (H/B MMP)
o Ecological Enhancement Strategy (EES)
· EcIA = An Ecological Impact Assessment is an in-depth evaluation that follows the initial Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA). It accurately determines the ecological value of a site’s habitats and features. It reports the further survey work recommended as part of the PEA. It should be noted that an EcIA is not the same as an EIA (see below).
· EIA = An Environmental Impact Assessment is a more robust assessment than an EcIA, conducted for projects which are of a sufficient scale that they may have significant effects on the environment (such as an infrastructure scheme, wind farm or large-scale residential development).
· HRA / sHRA = A Habitats Regulations Assessment is a process that determines whether or not a planning application could negatively impact a protected site of International (European) interest. An ecologist produces a sHRA (shadow HRA) identifying the impacts of the proposals beyond reasonable scientific doubt.
· NN = Nutrient Neutrality is when the nutrient load created through additional wastewater (including surface water) from a development is mitigated. Proposed developments within certain sensitive catchments (SACs; see below) such as the Solent, New Forest or River Itchen need to demonstrate that they will achieve nutrient neutrality. By designing developments alongside suitable mitigation measures, additional nutrient loads can often be avoided or mitigated.
· RCA = A River Condition Assessment is required where the site is bordered by a watercourse and impacts are anticipated within 10m of the watercourse.
Survey types / species
· DBW = Daytime Bat Walkover, formerly referred to as a Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA), a DBW is a daytime assessment of a site to consider its suitability for foraging, commuting and roosting bats. Where buildings are present and safe to access, a DBW would also cover an internal inspection of all buildings to be impacted by the proposals.
· EcOW = An Ecological Clerk of Works is an ecologist who oversees an element of site clearance work which has potential to cause harm to a protected species such as vegetation clearance which may result in killing or injury of reptiles if a sensitive approach is not adopted.
· eDNA = An eDNA survey is a survey for great crested newts (GCNs). Water samples are taken from a pond and sent for analyses to identify whether there is any ‘environmental DNA’ of the species in the sample, indicating their presence.
· GCN = Great crested newt
· PEA = A Preliminary Ecological Appraisal is a survey that uses UKHab (the UK Habitat classification) to make an initial high-level evaluation of the ecological value of a site. It is usually the first step in determining what ecological considerations a development will need in the future. It identifies any need for further ecological surveys to accurately complete the appraisal.
· PRA = A Preliminary Roost Assessment is a type of survey method to identify bat roosts or the potential for bat roosts in a structure (usually a man-made structure, such as a building or a bridge; trees are evaluated using Ground Level Tree Assessments). The methodology is published by the Bat Conservation Trust, as are most bat survey methodologies. This term is now being replaced by ‘Daytime Bat Walkover’ (DBW - see above).
· SQE = A Suitably Qualified Ecologist is required to undertake surveys and assessments, the criteria for which are set out within BREEAM guidance (see below).
· UKHab = The UK Habitat Classification is the categorisation system of habitats in the UK. The most recent version (version 2.01) was released in 2023 and replaces the previous Phase 1 Habitat Survey methodology.
Protected sites / species
· BOA = Biodiversity Opportunity Areas identify the regional priority areas of opportunity for restoration and creation of Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) habitats. This is a spatial representation of the BAP targets and the BOAs are areas of opportunity, not constraint.
· EPS = European Protected Species under the provisions of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017
· LWS = Local Wildlife Sites are sites with 'substantive nature conservation value'.
· NNR = National Nature Reserves were established to protect some of the UKs most important habitats, species and geology, and to provide 'outdoor laboratories' for research. There are currently 221 NNRs in England with a total area of over 110,000 hectares - approximately 0.8% of the country's land surface.
· Ramsar = A Ramsar site is a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, which is also known as the 'Convention on Wetlands' — an intergovernmental environmental treaty established by UNESCO in 1971, and named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed that year.
· SACs = Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are strictly protected sites designated under the EC Habitats Directive. Article 3 of the Habitats Directive requires the establishment of a European network of important high-quality conservation sites that will make a significant contribution to conserving the 189 habitat types and 788 species identified in Annexes I and II of the Directive (as amended). The listed habitat types and species are those considered to be most in need of conservation at a European level (excluding birds).
· SPAs = Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are protected areas for rare and vulnerable birds and for regularly occurring migratory species.
· SPI = Species of Principal Importance are a material consideration in the planning process covering some species of bats, dormouse, otter, great crested newt, common toad and brown hare for example.
· SSSI = Site of Special Scientific Interest are those areas of land and water that are considered to best represent England’s natural heritage in terms of their flora and/or fauna. Each SSSI is legally protected and selected because it contains special features. These could be threatened habitats, characteristic, rare and endangered species or important geology. There are just over 4,100 SSSIs in England covering more than 1.1million hectares (around 8% of England's land area).
Other organisations
· CIEEM = Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management is the professional membership body representing and supporting ecologists and environmental managers in the UK, Ireland and abroad.
· LPA = A Local Planning Authority regulates, controls and determines the planning and development direction of its area. Developers apply for planning permission to the LPA, which determines whether the proposed development complies with its local planning policy, as well as national planning policy and other laws.
· LRC = Each County has a Local Records Centre which collects and shares information about designated sites and protected and priority species.
· NE = Natural England is the Governmental body in England which determines whether potential impacts to a protected species or site are significantly mitigated for such that planning permission can be secured
· NRW = Natural Resource Wales is the Governmental body in Wales which determines whether potential impacts to a protected species or site are significantly mitigated for planning permission to be secured.
Legislation and policy
· DCO = Under the Planning Act, a Development Consent Order (DCO) is the means of obtaining permission to construct and maintain developments categorised as NSIPs.
· LAEP = local area energy plans will plan the decarbonisation of the local energy system out to 2050 but recognises that some local authorities may have set earlier Net Zero targets (e.g. 2040, 2045). A key part of the LAEP is defining near-term actions (those within the immediate 3 – 5 years of delivering the LAEP).
Licences / legal agreements
· Licence = There are different types of licences which ecologists discuss, detailed below.
o Personal licences = Some elements of survey work require surveyors to hold a licence to cause disturbance to certain species, for example, great crested newts, bats, barn owls and rare reptiles.
o Project licences = Where a project will cause an impact to a protected species such as destruction of a bat roost, badger sett or water vole or great crested newt habitat, a licence is required to enable the proposals to lawfully proceed. A licence can be sought once planning permission is secured, following surveys to understand potential impacts of the proposals and the design of appropriate mitigation, compensation and enhancement measures.
o District licence = For great crested newts a proposed development site can be registered under a District Licence which delivers strategic mitigation for the species at offset sites, potentially reducing the amount of on-site mitigation required.
o Earned Recognition licence = Rather than a traditional European Protected Species Mitigation (EPSM) licence which takes Natural England (NE) in excess of 35 working days to review and approve, it is possible in some situations to register a site under the Earned Recognition (ER) scheme. Approved consultants (of which we have two here at Ecology by Design) can apply to register sites which takes 15 working days to be reviewed by NE.
· S106 = Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 allows a local planning authority to enter into a legally-binding agreement or planning obligation with a landowner as part of the granting of planning permission. The obligation is termed a section 106 agreement. These agreements are needed where mitigation such as skylark plots is being delivered outside a red line boundary or where 10% BNG is being achieved on site and ongoing habitat management and monitoring is required.
Miscellaneous
FISC = Field Identification Skills Certificate which is issued by the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland. It’s a test that assesses your botanical proficiency on a scale from 1 (beginner) to 5 (professional), with a level 6 awarded in exceptional cases.
Ecological terms and considerations can be complicated, and this article contains only a small selection of terminology and key acronyms. If you are a developer looking to navigate the world of ecology, please get in touch with our talented team here at hello@ecologybydesign.co.uk.