Areas of the United Kingdom are granted the status of national parks due to the exceptional natural assets the parks contain and strive to protect. The Peak District as the first national park in the UK arguably has some of the most important ecosystems in the whole of the country and also some of the most vulnerable to damage. That is why the park authority sets out to protect and encourage wildlife biodiversity within the park, protecting it from human activity.
The wildlife of the Peak District is exceptional and includes the limestone areas of White Peak with its beautiful Dales, as well as the peat bogs which host an exceptional range of wildlife. The South Western areas of the park also contain a wide range of wildlife ranging from small animals and birds to rare plants and flowers.
Of course, biodiversity which encompasses every living organism from simple bacteria to humans is crucial to the future of the park as well as the whole country and is not simply something which exists for ramblers and other users of the park. Biodiversity ensures that we protect nature that is important to our everyday life. This includes protecting the water table from dangerous chemicals and fertilizers to ensure that the quality of our drinking water improves to ensuring plants we require for medicines continue to flourish. Biodiversity also ensures that natural goods such as honey continue to be produced by building hives for bees, and ensuring pesticides are natural and don’t interfere with wildlife. The final aspect of biodiversity centres around the protection of the park to ensure that tourism and the local economy can continue to improve and grow in a sustainable manner.
In order to promote biodiversity the Peak District national park authority has put into place a biodiversity action plan. The action plan aims to identify and describe the species of plants and animals that live within the park, as well as identifying their habitats. The plan then aims to assess the level of threat that species face in order to best protect species, by creating a series of targets to promote biodiversity. The final objective of the park authority in regard to biodiversity is to promote awareness of biodiversity among residents, visitors and the country as a whole. Awareness is promoted through a range of mediums that include educational visitors by park rangers to schools.