Skip to main content
What types of page to search?

Popular pages: Undergraduate Postgraduate PhD Accommodation Research International students

Alternatively use our A-Z index.

Introduction

Humanity has had far-reaching impacts on biological diversity (biodiversity) leading to the sixth mass extinction of species on planet earth and an ecological crisis.

Wildlife populations have fallen by 69% since 19701, over 25% of species are currently threatened with extinction and natural ecosystems (interacting communities of living organisms and their physical environment) have declined by 47% since their earliest estimated states.

As a global leader in both research and education, and a major employer and anchor institution in the Liverpool City Region, the University of Liverpool recognises it has a significant impact on the natural world as well as having the influence and capacity to have a positive impact both locally and globally. As such, the University has committed to “Promote biodiversity across the University estate and throughout our value chain” as part of our Environmental Policy. Building on this commitment, this plan sets out 3 core principles which will guide the University’s response to the biodiversity crisis both within our estate and beyond:

  • We will increase biodiversity throughout our estate, supporting greater genetic, species and ecosystem diversity.
  • We will embed, within our university culture, an appreciation of the inherent value for biodiversity and the environmental, social and economic benefits of nature rich environments.
  • We will reduce harm to biodiversity beyond our estate and campus operations by influencing our supply chain and investment activities to identify and reduce harmful practices.

This document sits alongside our Climate Plan as a key enabling document to the Sustainability Strategy and the vision and commitments of our strategic framework, Liverpool 2031. It sets out the context the University operates in and our approach to addressing biodiversity loss and the ecological crisis.  

Biodiversity and humanity’s impact

Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth, including plants and animals and the natural ecosystems that support them. Nature and biodiversity make an invaluable contribution to human life through: 

  • Regulating the climate – essential life supporting services through regulating water and air quality and crop pollination.
  • Providing material – goods and services produced by nature and used by humans such as food and timber.
  • Providing non-material benefits – the spiritual inspiration and cultural opportunities nature provides such as through recreation and tourism.

Beyond these contributions to human life, the many species comprising biodiversity also have intrinsic value (value for their own sake) and are the product of an evolutionary heritage spanning billions of years.

Humans interact with nature in a multitude of ways but as societies have developed and expanded so has their negative impacts on biodiversity. There are 5 key direct drivers for the loss of biodiversity:

  • Our most profound impacts are from sea and land use change, primarily to support agriculture but also urban expansion.
  • Over exploitation of natural resources, such as through harvesting, logging and fishing. 
  • Climate change, long term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, for which greenhouse gas emissions from human activity is a major contributor.
  • Pollution, such as from urban and rural waste or pollutants from industrial or agricultural processes.
  • Invasive species, non-indigenous species that cause harm to a new environment.

The University contributes to these drivers of biodiversity loss through both our direct operations as well as indirectly through our supply chain and investments, and recognises it has a role to play in halting and reversing the decline in biodiversity and leveraging the benefits of nature for our university community and beyond.

Policy and legal context

As a member of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Kingdom is a signatory of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which sets out a pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050. The University of Liverpool is committed to leveraging our role as a leader in research to help tackle the global ecological crisis.

As part of the Environment Act 2021, the United Kingdom has set out the ambition to restore natural habitats and increase biodiversity, ultimately halting the decline in species by 2030. These changes, updating Section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006 which places a legal responsibility on public authorities in England to conserve biodiversity, will be driven by legally binding environmental targets and changes to planning laws requiring mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG) in developments. The act also requires the production of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) to support the restoration and enhancement of nature, species conservation strategies and protected site strategies. The University of Liverpool is committed to ensuring compliance with BNG and supporting the aims of the LNRS in both the Liverpool City Region and Chester and Cheshire West.  

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 sets out legal protections for specific species and habitats present on the estate and we are in close proximity to several nationally and internationally designated wildlife sites including, the Dee Estuary; a Ramsar site3, SAC4, SPA5 and SSSI6. As such, we must ensure that our activities do not harm, kill or destroy any priority habitats or species, and capital projects and operations do not interfere with designated wildlife sites.