Aug 28 : UK has listed the ubiquitous House Sparrow and hedgehogs in an updated list of species that need conservation and protection.

UK’s new Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) has identified 1,149 species and 65 habitats in the Isles as being in need of conservation and greater protection. When the action plan was initially launched in 1997, it listed 577 species - half the number included in the updated version.

Wildlife experts said this was a result of wider research and not necessarily down to more habitats getting destroyed.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said that the starling has also been added on the BAP list of 59 bird species, along with the house sparrow.

“The fact that the bird list now includes more than a fifth of all the UK’s regularly occurring birds is a cause for alarm. We will have to act fast if we are to meet obligations of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010,” said Mark Avery, the RSPB’s conservation director.

He added that the BAP has focused efforts on stemming the decline in a number of vulnerable species.

“To its credit, we have seen dramatic increases in key species, like bittern, stone-curlew, corncrake, nightjar, cirl bunting and woodlark,” he said.

According to the BBC, a separate study, also published on Tuesday, has highlighted the decline in the UK’s hedgehog population.

The study by the University of London for the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society listed tidier gardens and urbanisation as key factors affecting the fall in the number of these small mammals.

Nigel Bourne, chairman of the Wildlife and Countryside Link’s biodiversity working group, said the updated list would be a “major boost” towards conservation of vulnerable species.

“The list will focus efforts on the real, shared conservation priorities in the UK. The conservation charities that make up Link… look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the government,” said Dr Bourne.

“Together we can turn the list into targeted action to deliver the conservation of our very special habitats and species,” he said. (ANI)