Golf & Biodiversity
Biodiversity, the variety of species that populate our landscapes, is a barometer of environmental quality and ultimately the health of our planet. It makes our world vibrant. It generates wealth and prosperity. It contributes to the richness of our lives through culture, leisure activities and our awareness of the world around us. It's what makes the earth a living planet.
The loss of biodiversity suggests we are not living ethically or sustainably, while conservation success stories highlight how human activities can accommodate other life.
Guardians of the future
Many of the 35,000 golf courses worldwide are making a significant contribution to biodiversity through the sheer range of life that they host - from plants to birds, and invertebrates to amphibians. Many rare and protected species exist on courses, benefitting significantly from the stable, conservation-minded management of relatively undisturbed sites. The wealth of biodiversity correlates directly to the provision of habitats. Factors including the positioning, shape, structure and maturity of habitats can significantly affect the size and viability of a species population.
The good news for golf, and the great news for the environment, is that the best designed and maintained courses boast a combined landscape and ecological value that often outstrips that of the semi-natural and naturalized areas surrounding them. Habitat patches, edges and corridors are the very building blocks of golf courses - with forests, grasslands and wetlands regularly recurring as havens of biodiversity.
We hold the future in our hands.
Learn how GEO Certified™ golf clubs are making a significant contribution to biodiversity:
Kristianstads Golfklubb
Kristianstads Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve was designated by UNESCO in 2004 but the golf club has been working to enhance biodiversity on-site for decades. The rotational system of cultivation and fallow on their sandy soils has given rise to a very special type of landscape that hosts flora and fauna of international interest.
Hilversumsche Golf Club
A regular stop on the European Tour, Hilversumsche lies just outside Amsterdam in a Natura 2000 designated heathland. The course hosts a great diversity of valuable flora and fauna, with approximately 80 bird species inventoried. Many mammals can be observed including the European Polecat and the Marten.
