4.2  Explanation of the structure of the conservation objective

The structure of the conservation objective is largely based on CCW’s publication ‘A guide to the production of management plans for nature reserves and protected areas’ [74], which contains a full explanation of the underlying principles.

The overall objective for the site is to maintain the Cardigan Bay Bottlenose Dolphin population at Favourable Conservation Status, as defined in the Habitats Directive. Monitoring the achievement of this objective can be achieved through use of a series of performance indicators.

The feature of the site - the bottlenose dolphin population - can be represented by a series of “attributes”. These are measurable indicators indicative of the condition of the feature, such as the number of animals, or their distribution. For each attribute, a “target value” can be identified, which is believed to be indicative of the favourable condition of the feature, that is, the condition we wish the population to attain. (See Figure 16).

All attributes of a feature can be expected to display some natural variability. Therefore for a feature to be considered in favourable condition it does not necessarily require each attribute to be exactly at its target value. Upper and lower “limits of acceptable change” can be defined for each attribute, within which its value can fluctuate without giving cause for concern. An upper or lower limit may not necessarily be specified in all cases, as some types of change may not be considered to be of concern.

Monitoring [75] is carried out to determine the actual values of attributes, and where they lie in relation to the target and limits of acceptable change. Following monitoring, judgments can be made on the condition of the feature. (See hypothetical example, Figure 16.).

Figure 16.   Attribute Monitoring.

The fluctuation of an attribute’s value recorded over eight monitoring events. The condition of the feature eventually falls below the lower limit and becomes unfavourable. (Note: If in the very unlikely event that sightings/hr were used as an attribute there would probably not be an ‘upper limit’ at which sightings/hr became unfavourable.)

It is important to note that limits of acceptable change are identified to act as triggers for some form of response. This will initially be to seek to establish the cause of the change, followed, if necessary, by some form of management action. Limits of acceptable change may also reflect the effective precision with which monitoring can be undertaken. The breach of a limit means that the condition of the feature must initially be reported as unfavourable.

[74] Countryside Council for Wales.1996. A guide to the production of management plans for nature reserves and protected areas. Countryside Council for Wales. Bangor.

[75] Surveillance undertaken to ensure that formulated standards are being maintained. The term is also applied to compliance monitoring against accepted standards to ensure that agreed or required measures are being followed.