Abstract
The Countryside Survey provides a national (UK) assessment of the status, condition and long term trends in broad habitats, landscape features, soil, vegetation and freshwaters. The survey is an important component of the evidence base for the Natural Resource Protection Programme and supports policy development across a large number of policy areas including: sustainable development, UK Biodiversity Action Plan, CAP reform, agri-environment schemes, environmental impact assessment, air pollution impacts, Water Framework Directive, soil strategy and climate change programme. New methods of data collection and analysis will be developed and applied. The study will include a scientific assessment of the changes occurring in the countryside and the implications for policy development. The last survey and assessment was undertaken in 1998 and published in 2000 and the results are now out of date.
United Kingdom