AN ambitious 10-year campaign to safeguard wildlife has been launched by the RSPB following the failure to meet a global target.

In Dorset it will ensure the best possible effort is targeted at the region’s most vulnerable species.

Stepping Up for Nature is the most ambitious campaign in the charity’s 122-year history and it aims to end the continuing threat to wildlife in the UK and across the world.

In 2010 the world failed to meet a global target to halt the decline in biodiversity. A new target was set by the EU for 2020 and UK governments have signed up to it.

The campaign aims to encourage government, businesses and individuals to step up and play their part for nature.

“We have a great track record in Dorset of helping reverse the decline of many species,” said Nick Tomlinson, RSPB Weymouth Wetlands reserves manager. “We have been working hard to restore habitats such as the heathlands at Arne and the reedbeds and wetlands at Radipole and Lodmoor.

“This is paying off and we’re proud of our success to date with birds like the Dartford warbler at Arne and the breeding marsh harriers and nationally scarce bittern at Weymouth Wetlands, as well as other wildlife, including water voles, otters and rare bats and moths.

“But there is still a lot of work to do.

“When we missed the 2010 biodiversity target, we failed nature.

“We can’t let that happen again.

“Over the next decade, we have the opportunity to fix the problems that are causing the loss of wildlife in the UK and across the world.”

He said everyone could do their bit, from schoolchildren creating a wildlife garden in the corner of a playground to people volunteering with their local RSPB and other nature reserves to protect vital green spaces.

One of the first major events is a Big Wild Stock Take at Weymouth on Saturday, April 23 and at Arne on Sunday, April 24 to find out what species live on the reserves and how better to protect them.