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South Kesteven District Council

… natural areas – a ‘living landscape’ of which wildlife is an integral part, not confined to specially protected sites.  Ensure that biodiversity is recognised as an essential element of life in the historic county of Lincolnshire: including its contributions to health and wellbeing; the economy, recreation and tourism; and provision of ecosystem services (such as flood protection, retention…

… worth of flood protection benefits every year, in addition to habitat for 150 bird species4. The scheme has a benefit to cost ratio of 3.225. Insect pollination for UK crops alone is estimated at £340 million per year6. The flip side is that degraded ecosystems can cost us money – our ecosystems may have less capacity to perform regulating functions or may have lost them altogether. It costs…

… is required for producing a range of different crops. These are ecosystem services, and other examples include flood attenuation, water and nutrient cycling, carbon storage, and most crucially the production of oxygen through photosynthesis, which enables us to breathe. Recognition of these services and their value to human societies is increasing but not necessarily fast enough, which is one…

… come at the expense of other ecosystem services and biodiversity. These issues are discussed further in sections 3 and 4. Regulating services e.g. flood control and crop pollination These include some of the most important services that directly underpin the provisioning services and our daily lives. The Alkborough Flats managed realignment scheme on the Humber Estuary is providing £400,000…

… they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.’ 2 4 agricultural soil degradation costs between £29million and £128million per year through its contribution to flooding events8. Cultural services e.g. recreational benefits Lincolnshire‟s biodiversity is a key element of its landscape, which adds to the quality of life for its residents…