Biodiversity

The University’s ERBAP is reviewed and updated by the ERBAP Steering Group. The current ERBAP sets out a series of targets to reach over the three-year period between 2024 and 2026. The plan sets how we are going to maintain and enhance biodiversity and promote ecosystem resilience across Cardiff University’s campuses, in compliance with the Section 6 Duty of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016.

The ERBAP is based on assessing and improving the five attributes developed by Natural Resource Wales (NRW) for building ecosystem resilience: diversity, extent, condition, connectivity, and adaptability of ecosystems (DECCA). The plan also incorporates the five ways of working set out by the Well-Being of Future Generations Act: integration, collaboration, engagement, long-term and prevention.

The ERBAP was developed in collaboration with Cardiff Council to ensure that our joint actions achieve synergies in reaching our ecosystem resilience and biodiversity targets. The work is collaborative and draws upon the resources and expertise of all of Cardiff University’s community, including staff and students.

Read our full ERBAP report

Read our summarised ERBAP report

Under Part 1, Section 6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, the Welsh Government and all public authorities operating in Wales, including universities, must maintain and enhance biodiversity and support ecosystem resilience. This duty requires biodiversity to be embedded into policy and decision-making processes. Welsh public authorities must report on actions taken to meet this duty every three years from 2019.

Read our Section 6 report

We have taken a proactive approach to biodiversity and ecosystem resilience through a mix of strategies, including:

• creating dedicated staff roles and engaging volunteers and student researchers
• establishing an Environmental Compliance Officer (ECO) network and Biodiversity Hubs across the university
• seeking expert advice from academic staff and partners such as Cardiff City Nature Network, Cardiff Local Nature Partnership, Wales Biodiversity Partnership, and the Section 6 Working Group
• working with external consultants for specialist projects like species and habitat surveys
• joining national environmental nature schemes

The Nature Friendly Grounds scheme by SOS-UK is a new initiative aimed at transforming educational spaces into hubs for ecological recovery. It is designed to radically transform how educational spaces contribute to the UK’s ecological recovery through habitat and species restoration and by embedding nature-positive action in the everyday operations of schools, colleges and universities. The programme launched in the 2025/26 academic year and will run for two years, culminating in a student-led audit process in June 2027. The scheme invited 16 institutions across all four UK nations to join the pilot phase, representing a cross-section of the education sector. Cardiff University has been one of the 16 institutions selected to participated in this pilot scheme.

By signing up to the Nature Friendly Campus scheme, Cardiff University will benefit from:

• a powerful, action-based framework to restore nature on our grounds
• access to a bespoke online toolkit created by conservation experts
• a national accreditation scheme (Bronze, Silver, Gold) based on our impacts
• unique student engagement opportunities, including student-led award audits
• opportunities to shape a flagship national programme from the ground up

Our Biodiversity Hub model is central to ERBAP delivery. Initially launched through the Hedgehog Friendly Campus (HFC) campaign, we now have several active hubs run by staff and student volunteers. These hubs:

• organise events to raise awareness and fundraise
• support biodiversity surveys and habitat enhancement
• develop local plans to improve biodiversity and enrich the student experience

Contact sustainableCU@cardiff.ac.uk for more information about joining a hub's work.

As part of the ERBAP, we signed up to the Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme, a national campaign to make university campuses better habitats for hedgehogs. Cardiff University has been awarded Hedgehog Friendly Campus Gold Accreditation.

University campuses cover large areas of land, which are often potentially suitable habitats for hedgehogs. Hedgehog Friendly Campus recognises that how universities use this land can have a big impact on hedgehog populations.

Learn more about this project

Living Labs at Cardiff University bring together our campus spaces, operations, and partnerships as a testbed for real‑world sustainability learning.

Learn more about Living Labs