The importance of wildlife and wild places

It is important to protect and conserve biodiversity - wildlife and wild places - for its own sake, and for future generations of people. Our children's world should contain as rich a variety of living things as ours. They too should be able to enjoy wild places, just as we can today.

Contact with the natural world is inspiring, and promotes good physical and mental health. Watching the birds or squirrels, or seeing the seasons change, is relaxing and a welcome contrast to the hustle and bustle of city life. Our green open spaces are great places for learning about nature. Parks, tree-lined streets and gardens attract people to work, visit and invest in London. The Mayor wants to make sure everyone has easy access to nearby green open spaces.

However, there is never enough space for everything in a city like London. Important places for biodiversity may be threatened by proposals to build houses, for example. We need to know where these places are, so that we can use the planning system to make sure they aren't damaged. Wildweb presents this information for London's most important wildlife sites.

These places must also be looked after in the right way. For example, a meadow will gradually fill up with bushes if the grass is never cut and many wild flowers will die out. We need to be watchful and keep an eye on changes in London's wildlife, so we notice when there are problems. For example, sparrows recently became very rare in London and the RSPB and the London Biodiversity Partnership are trying to find out why.

Discover 20 Wildlife Wonders in London.