Our Conservation Plan

A FUTURE FOR WILDLIFE

The six Welsh Wildlife Trusts have published their first joint Conservation Plan, setting out their vision and objectives for the next 10 years.

It was launched at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show in July 2006 by the Welsh Assembly Government’s Presiding Officer, Dafydd Elis-Thomas.

The Conservation Plan has been produced thanks to a great deal of hard work and consideration involving all six trusts. The plan acknowledges that, to achieve our aims, we will need to draw on the combined strengths of staff and volunteers, combining ecological expertise, local knowledge, passion, and determination.

A summary of the plan will be available on CD-Rom from your local Trust. Here, however, is a taster of some of the key elements the plan contains. It which should give an overview of how we view the whole business of protecting and enhancing wildlife for the future.

Our vision and aims

Our vision is an environment rich in wildlife for everyone. We want to restore the diversity of wildlife and get everyone closer to nature. Above all, we aim to be an active and influential champion of wildlife.

Local wildlife conservation is our core business and our main objectives are:

To stand up for wildlife and the environment

To create, restore, and improve wildlife havens

To interest and inspire people to find out more about the natural world

To foster sustainable living

Focal habitats and species

Protection, improvement, and creation of wildlife habitats in Wales is a key function of WTW. In selecting our priority habitats, we have paid particular attention to the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, the habitats’ relevance to people, and our ability to make a significant difference in Wales. The focal habitats for WTW are:

1. Bogs, fen, marsh and swamp

2. Lowland grassland

3. Upland habitats

4. Wood pasture and veteran trees

5. Rivers and streams

6. Coastal habitats

The selection of focal habitats does not mean WTW will ignore others, of course.

Focal species

WTW is involved in leading conservation and recovery programmes for a number of UKBAP priority species. The focal species have been chosen according to their status in Wales, their relevance to people, and the ability of WTW to make a significant difference to their conservation.

WTW is preparing an action plan for each focal species. The plans, and progress towards meeting their targets, will be regularly reviewed. And it should go without saying that other species not listed here will not be forgotten.

This list represents our current conservation priorities in Wales. We also recognise that we could have an important role in reintroduction of native species which have been lost. These could include the beaver – last seen in Wales in the 16^th century - or they could be more recent, like the water vole, which is now extinct in many parts of Wales. In considering any reintroduction work, WTW will be guided by the guidelines on the subject produced by the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUNC).

Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta	Lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolophus hipposideros
Fen orchid Liparis loselii	Lapwing Vanellus vanellus
Dwarf stonewort Nitella tenuissima	Song thrush Turdus philomelos
Nail fungus Poronia punctata	Reed bunting Emberza schoeniclus
Basking shark Cetorhinus maximus	Great crested newt Triturus cristatus
Otter Lutra lutra	Pearl-bordered fritillary Boloria euphrosyne
Dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius	Southern damselfly Coenagrion mercuriale
Water vole Arvicola terrestris	Black bog ant Formica candica
Red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris	Marsh fritillary Eurodryas aurinia
Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena	White-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes
Bottle-nosed dolphin Tursiops truncatus	Medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis

n.b. The list will be reviewed regularly. Species may be added or removed from the list as circumstances change

Standing up for wildlife and the environment

Development often poses a threat to species and wildlife habitats across Wales. Each Wildlife Trust in Wales monitors new proposals submitted for developments involving roads, industry, wind farms, and housing.

The WTW vision for development in Wales is based on making effective use of land, limiting greenfield development as far as possible, and ensuring that the wildlife value of brownfield land is recognised and protected where appropriate.

We will lobby for development to be kept to existing urban areas and located within sustainable transport areas with access by rail, bus, cycle and foot.

Agriculture

Intensive agriculture, driven by subsidies, has been the most significant cause of habitat loss and species decline. Yet, because more than three-quarters of the Welsh landscape is farmed, our agricultural landscape still supports the majority of our terrestrial wildlife.

Changes to the Common Agricultural Policy mean it is inevitable that farming will undergo a radical transformation within the next 10 years. It is therefore more important than ever to ensure that changing policy delivers a switch to a wildlife-friendly management of the "wider countryside". In partnership with other agencies, we will work to bring about changes to agricultural policy in Wales, with the aim of encouraging more wildlife-friendly agricultural policy in the UK as a whole.

At a local level, we will continue to develop close working relationships with farmers. We will raise awareness of conservation incentive schemes and encourage farmers to pay greater attention to wildlife and conserve and enhance natural features.

We will also use Wildlife Trust-owned farms to demonstrate wildlife-friendly management and raise general public awareness - not only of the past losses of wildlife on farmed land, but also of the environmental and social benefits to be gained from wildlife-friendly farming.

Other landowners

Landowners and smallholders who are not commercial farmers own an increasing amount of Wales’ countryside. Such holdings are often rich in wildlife. Other significant areas of land are owned by businesses, local authorities, and government agencies. and many qualify as Wildlife Sites. These, along with nature reserves and farmed land, are crucial parts of the conservation jigsaw.

Water and wetlands

River, flood plain, and wetland habitats are crucially important for a wide variety of plants and animals. Historically, much land has been drained for agriculture. Current threats include agricultural practices, development proposals, and continued pressures from flood alleviation measures. The restoration of such habitat for wildlife is a high priority.

We will use our local knowledge of rivers and wetlands to highlight the problems of drainage and flood plain loss, attempt to influence WAG on these issues, and also seek to influence agricultural policy and practice.

Our freshwater environments will remain vulnerable without widespread public support for measures to ensure our waters are clean and our water resources are used wisely. We will promote the conservation message through community and educational projects and consumer campaigns and we will encourage the sustainable use of both our natural and man-made resources.

Marine

More than 50% of Britain’s biodiversity is under the sea, yet protection for the marine environment is even less adequate than it is for the land. WTW will devote greater attention to marine issues, paying particular attention to the following areas:

· Improving the marine protected area system to comprise strictly protected areas (e.g. Marine Nature Reserves) and areas where extra safeguards are applied to human activity (e.g. Marine Environment High Risk Areas)

· Establishing mechanisms to reduce the risk of marine pollution from oil and other toxic substances including increasing capacity to respond to accidents

· Improving licensing arrangements for extractive industries (oil, gas and aggregates) to minimise the risk of damage to marine wildlife

· Sustainable management of inshore fisheries

Creating and enhancing wildlife havens

WTW currently manages more than 220 nature reserves across Wales. These are safe havens for wildlife and play an important role in the enjoyment and awareness of wildlife for people.

We will operate a strategic acquisition policy, acquiring nature reserves when it fits our goals in terms of enhancing the value of existing reserves, protecting threatened sites, creating corridors, and providing opportunities for people to enjoy and appreciate wildlife.

The creation of large areas for wildlife is a particular priority for WTW. The fragmented nature of many habitats and populations of species increases their vulnerability and may make it more difficult for them to adapt to climate change. The creation of either large, single areas - or networks of corridors and buffer zones, managed primarily for wildlife - help reduce this vulnerability.

Large areas will be created by a combination of WTW reserve acquisition and expansion and partnership arrangements with other organisations and individuals which manage areas primarily for the benefit of wildlife. Encouragement for local authorities, landowners, recreational users, and local communities to take on management of sites as nature reserves is an important role for WTW.

Our wide experience of managing areas for wildlife must be shared to ensure that the maximum benefits for biodiversity are achieved.

Inspiring people about the natural world

WTW inspires people to get involved in their natural environment in an exciting and inclusive manner. Our education and community work will continue to:

• Encourage people to enjoy, understand and appreciate wildlife
• Demonstrate the important impact wildlife which and our natural environment can have on quality of life

• Help people to improve the sustainability of everyday life choices and to understand how they have an impact on biodiversity
• Remove barriers to awareness-raising and participation, whether they are linguistic, social, cultural, physical, economic or intellectual
• Persuade individuals and communities to become involved in activities or make decisions which benefit the environment
• Create opportunities for individual and community engagement with nature and wildlife in both rural and urban environments
• Maximise opportunities for volunteers to develop their personal skills
• Ensure WTW nature reserves and visitor centres are available, accessible, and welcoming to all
• Develop activities that link to the LBAP process in Wales
• Encourage the use of the Welsh language through development and implementation of a bi-lingual policy

Fostering sustainable living

Many wider environmental issues ultimately affect wildlife. Some of these have been well-recognised for some time, e.g. air pollution destroying lichens or enriching grassland, water pollution causing species extinction, and Wildlife Sites being lost to landfill proposals or new roads to accommodate increasing traffic levels. There is now a growing acceptance of the implications of climate change, which looks likely to prove a major determining factor affecting the survival of our biodiversity.

The Wildlife Trusts are committed to fostering sustainable living. In Wales, the first step we can take is to improve our own environmental performance. We also hope to encourage low-impact living through contact with our members and the wider public through the media. In time, we may run specific awareness-raising projects; for now, our principal priority must be show that we practise what we preach.