Conservation management at Lincoln
The UK Conservation Management System (CMS) has been adopted
at Lincoln for databasing
management plans for its green assets. Currently there is only one site (Boultham Mere) where
a
CMS plan is being produce. This site has a local voluntary warden and the CMS plan is being
produced by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.
This conceptual map defines the CMS planning and reporting
logic. The actual CMS software is a
relational database that runs on a stand-alone version of Microsoft Access.
Planning logic
An action plan describes
the logic that has to be followed and the operations to be carried
out in order to target an objective of a management plan. This web presentation follows the
planning logic of the UK Conservation Management System (CMS). Each topic may be
accessed from the topic map or the list of nested topics in the left hand pane. It has been
prepared from an *.mmp file using MindManager software, as a simplified version of the
CMS in order to introduce communities to the CMS system of planning and databasing.
The topic map and
text are linked in the mmp file. The map is an aid to preparing and
visualising the action plan as a holistic structured document. The text may be printed out
as a set of nested topics. The software allows the action plan to be prepared via a map
as
a structured document, and gives access to each of its elements for editing and reporting.
The text may be exported as an RTF document for editing and transport.
The entire MindManager
file, consisting of the topic map and linked text, is portable
between individuals and organisations using MindManager software. The file may also be
exported as html web pages. It will also synchronise with both MS Outlook and MS Project
Manager. It may be exported to MS Powerpoint.
Software
MindManager (Business
Edition) has been chosen as the project manager to database and
network community plans for sustainable development (www.mindman.com).
Planning terms and definitions
The following terms and definitions have been taken from planning guides published
by the CMS
partnership.
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Term
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Definition
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Feature
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Features are easily recognisable and manageable components of the
site and are the targets of the management plan. A Feature may be a
habitat, a species, (or group of species) or something relating to the
value of the site to people, such as it’s archaeological, recreational or
landscape value, or an issue arising from a community system, such
as traffic flow, or graffiti.
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Objective –
Longterm Vision
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An objective is an expression
of something that we want to achieve. A
management plan is required to target resources effectively in
order to achieve the objective.
Objectives are not policies.
Policies are wish lists that have to be
turned into practical realities by setting objectives..
Objectives describe the
conservation status required of the feature (i.e.
favourable conservation status) and NOT the actions necessary
to achieve that condition.
Objectives should be:
- Concise
- Unequivocal
- Desirable
- Measurable and
- Achievable.
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Favourable
Condition or
Status
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The desired condition of a feature.
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Aspirations
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These are the things that members of the community might wish to do
in the future which affect the management plan.
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Factor
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A Factor is anything that influences, or may influence, the Feature(s).
It is important that both negative and positive factors are considered,
since both will have implications for management.
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Operational
Limits
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Operational limits define the range of values within which the attribute
of a feature is considered acceptable. In reality both upper and lower
limits are seldom applied to the same factor. The limits to the range
act as a trigger for action to control the Factors.
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Monitoring
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The making of observations with sufficient precision to determine
whether a required condition is being met.
Monitoring should not be confused with surveillance or surveying.
Monitoring specifies the actions necessary to measure an attribute of
an objective that determines whether a condtion is being met.
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Attribute
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Attributes are the characteristics, qualities or properties of a feature
that are inherent and inseparable from the feature and which can be
used as indicators of the general condition of the feature.
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Performance
indicators
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Performance indicators are measurable Attributes.
The provide the evidence required to enable the current condition of a
feature to be determined.
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Specified Limits
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Specified limits define the degree to which the value of a performance
indicator is allowed to fluctuate without creating any cause for
concern. Thus, ideally, two values are required: an upper limit and a
lower limit.
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Rationale
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The rationale section of the plan is concerned with identifying and
describing, in outline, the management considered necessary to
maintain the site features in (or restore to) favourable status. The first
step in the rationale is to consider what the implications of the status
of a feature are for management.
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Action Plan
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An Action Plan is a list of the operations that are necessary to
maintain a feature in a favourable state. It is based upon a
consideration of each of the Factors and Attributes that are outside
acceptable limits and takes the Rationale into account.
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