Newyddion

The Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) is aiming to restore a healthy population of pine martens, a native Welsh mammal, to Wales. The pine marten (Martes martes) is a cat-sized member of the weasel family that preferentially lives in woodlands. Pine martens were once common and widespread in Wales but the population has undergone a severe decline and has fallen so low that it is now very unlikely to recover without intervention. The VWT is planning to reinforce the population by translocating pine martens from a healthy population in Scotland. This will provide a boost to numbers and increase genetic diversity. The Trust has carried out a thorough feasibility study, part of which involved identifying suitable potential release sites. An area of mid Wales has been selected as a release site, as it has extensive woodland habitat, low density of road networks and minimal conflict with human interests such as game shooting. A small number of pine martens will be taken from sites in Scotland and, once released in Wales, will be intensively radio-tracked. This will allow us to monitor where they establish territories and assess the success of the release. The restoration of a healthy pine marten population will offer great potential for wildlife tourism through people visiting Wales to see pine martens, as occurs in Scotland. It may also benefit woodlands and woodland managers if pine martens reduce grey squirrel populations, as has been the case in Ireland.

To find out more about the project visit the pine marten recovery project website

Image © Vincent Wildlife Trust

The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) have produced a useful new guide for ecologists, land managers and consultants who are looking for advice on how to better manage greenspaces to support local hedgehog populations; this includes any greenspaces from parks, recreational grounds and golf clubs, to churchyards, allotments and school grounds.

Hedgehog © David Cooper / PTES

Buglife Cymru have launched their Wales Threatened Bee Report, the first report of its kind to examine the health of our most threatened wild bees in Wales.

The report highlights some of Wales’ rarest and most threatened wild bees and the positive things we can do to help these species, ultimately ensuring they

do not go extinct in Wales. The report has found that seven of our bees have gone extinct in Wales, and a further five – such as the Long-fringed mini-mining bee

(Andrena niveata) - are on the brink of extinction. Most of the wild bees species assessed by the report have suffered significant declines, including the Shrill carder bee

(Bombus sylvarum) whose core populations are now confined to South Wales, raising concerns about the future prospects of these species.

Image Buglife

The status of the 49 mammal species found in Wales was last comprehensively assessed in 1995. Published in October 2020, The State of Mammals in Wales summarises our current knowledge, reporting population sizes, geographical ranges, trends and, for native species, their Regional Red List status according to International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) standards.Beaver and wild boar were excluded from the assessment owing to uncertainty about their status in Wales. Most species had either increasing (26%) or stable (43%) ranges. All of the non-native species recently introduced to Wales have increased their geographical range. All naturalised species – that is, all those that have arrived since the formation of the English Channel but before the end of the 12th century – also have increased or stable ranges, with the exception of the black rat, which is now possibly extinct. The deer and carnivore groups include the most species with increasing ranges; indeed, all deer species in Wales are now found over larger areas than they were 20 years ago. The rodents, shrews, brown hare and hedgehog have largely stable ranges. The range trends for harvest mice and for most bats are unknown, because of radical changes in survey methodology over time, and, for many species, a general lack of monitoring information.

There are currently many opportunities for the conservation of mammals in Wales. The country remained a stronghold for polecats when they all but disappeared from the rest of the UK; current efforts to reinforce pine marten populations have been extremely successful; and Anglesey retains a key area for red squirrels. There are also significant populations of greater and lesser horseshoe bats, with evidence of an increasing northward spread, possibly reflecting changing climatic conditions. However, wildlife in Wales also faces challenges from the needs of expanding human populations, requirements for agriculture and forestry, and the presence of invasive non-native species. Through a series of case studies, The State of Mammals in Wales places the assessments of conservation status in context.

Text sourced from State of Mammals Report

On 30th June 2021 the Senedd declared a Nature Emergency in Wales and recognised that the nature and climate crises are inextricably linked. This reinforces the Senedd’s declaration of a climate emergency in 2019. Welsh Government confirmed it planned to establish an independent environmental watchdog for Wales and will be looking at biodiversity targets in the context of both the UN global biodiversity framework and the UK framework which are under development, and to ensure targets drive action to address the climate and nature emergencies.

Senedd Plenary record (listed under Plenary Item 7)

The Conservation Partnership | Curlew Wales includes details of new 'Important Curlew Areas' that will provide a focus for future conservation activities. This Wales Action Plan for the Recovery of Curlew was prepared by Gylfinir Cymru / Curlew Wales at the recommendation of Welsh Government to promote the conservation of Eurasian curlew in Wales. The curlew is in urgent need of coordinated UK and Wales conservation action and is a Red‐listed Bird of Conservation Concern in Wales.

Curlew © BTO

Two major projects have been given the green light to protect, enhance and help restore nature and the environment in Wales – great news to help tackle the Nature Emergency.

These projects, supported through the EU’s LIFE Programme and match funded by the Welsh Government, will ensure that the £13.8 million cash injection will breathe new life into urgent conservation challenges over the next five years.

More than nine million pounds will be invested into bringing four Welsh rivers into good condition – the Teifi, Cleddau, Tywi and Usk. An estimated 500km of river will be improved.

Just over £4.5 million will conserve quaking bogs – so called because of the way this peatland habitat literally shakes under your feet! The largest of the last remaining quaking bogs in Wales is Crymlyn Bog on the outskirts of Swansea.

Four Rivers for LIFE will:

• Improve river habitats and conditions for migratory fish – most notably Atlantic salmon, sea and river lamprey, bullhead and shad. Otters and freshwater pearl mussels are set to benefit too;
• Re-profile sections of canalised rivers so that they meander once again – great news for wildlife. But also for people, as slowing the flow can reduce flood risk downstream;
• Work with farmers to protect river corridors and reduce sediments and nutrients from entering rivers. This will have the added benefit of safeguarding important drinking water supplies.

LIFE Quaking Bog will restore seven Special Areas of Conservation, four of which are National Nature Reserves, by:

• Getting the water level right for quaking bogs’ specialised plantlife and wildlife;
• Controlling scrub and non-native invasive species that can smother the natural habitat;
• Reintroducing traditional grazing;
• Improving access so that more people can experience and enjoy nature at its best.

Four Rivers for LIFE will be run by NRW in partnership with the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, River Restoration Trust, Coleg Sir Gâr and the Woodland Trust, with additional financial support from Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water.

NRW’s LIFE Quaking Bogs partners are the National Trust and the Snowdonia and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authorities.

Text courtesy of NRW

Image © Sean McHugh

Apply for £10,000-£250,000 to improve urban nature spaces, develop community food-growing projects or help diverse ethnic communities engage with natural heritage. Read more and apply here The Nature Networks Fund Apply for £50,000-£250,000 to improve and stabilise Wales' protected land and coastal sites – from disappearing grasslands and peat bogs to freshwater and marine habitats under pressure from climate change. Read more and apply here Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund Aviva, in partnership with WWF and the RSPB, is giving £1 million to support community groups across the UK to protect and restore nature in their local area. Read more and apply here Volunteering Wales Strategic Grant 2023-25 - Open to applications Funding is available for not-for-profit organisations proposing projects up to two years, for up to £25,000 per annum. For more information and to access the online application form follow this link NRW Peatland Delivery Grant All details and the application process can be accessed through the Wales Peatland Action Programme web page. KWT Local Places for Nature grant Are you looking to transform an unloved area into want to create a community hub or help people to grow their own fruit and veg? Find out more and you can apply here Woodland Investment Grant The Woodland Investment Grant (TWIG) is a new programme for landowners to create woodlands for local communities to use and enjoy, as part of the National Forest initiative. For further information and application guidance please visit the website. National Lottery Grants for Heritage Welsh Government and National Lottery Heritage Fund Local Places for Nature grant scheme is now open for applications. There is £920k available to allocate between now and March 2023. Please visit the website for further details. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water Environment Fund Find out more here

The Wales Biodiversity Partnership is proud to share the updated Nature and Us website. www.natureandus.wales hosts the outcomes of the Nature and Us programme: a year-long national conversation that was held to develop a vision for the natural environment in 2050. The conversation was facilitated by NRW and involved many organisations and as many different people as possible from across Wales, to create the shared vision. It describes a future Wales where society and nature thrive together, and the steps we need to take to get there. On the website you can find the Nature and Us vision for 2050, and the underlying data and reports on all the involvement and conversations that have helped shape the vision. A new site area called REvision also presents all the creative conversations held as part of the programme and the creative responses to the Nature and Us vision. It’s a great resource to inspire your own conversations about the future of our natural environment and encourage action for a future where society and nature thrive together. Please have a browse and explore the site to learn more about Nature and Us. You can also email natureandus@naturalresources.wales to keep informed about future developments in the programme.

State of Nature Wales 2023 shows that since careful monitoring of 380 Welsh species began in 1994, the numbers of those species has declined on average by 20%. Moth species on average showed the strongest decline at 43%. The extinction risk of 3,897 species was also assessed using Red List criteria and found that 18% (one in six) were at risk of extinction including plants and animals such as fen orchid, water vole and sand lizard and more than 2% are already extinct in Wales. Well-known species like the Atlantic Salmon and Curlew have also suffered critical declines in Wales. Bats show an average increase of 76% since 1998, primarily driven by large increases in two bat species that are recovering from historic declines thanks to increased protection of the places they live. Some butterfly species showing signs of recovery too. The Biodiversity Intactness Index measure for Wales is 37%. Although similar to other parts of the UK, it ranks amongst the lowest globally. Hope for the Future In Wales, there are a number of projects and initiatives which have the potential to make a real difference for nature. Natur am Byth - Wales’ flagship species recovery programme and major habitat projects restoring rivers, bogs and fens and sand dunes are underway. Examples of successful species projects in the report include protection of Little Terns in Denbighshire that has enabled the main Welsh breeding colony to become one of the most important in Britain, and peatland restoration in Ceredigion that has maintained the population of Large Heath Butterflies. National schemes such Local Places for Nature, Nature Networks, National Peatland Project and the National Forest scheme are delivering for nature across Wales. A new Sustainable Farming Scheme operating from 2025, will reward farmers for maintaining and creating wildlife habitat, with grants too for farms to collaborate on landscape-scale work to boost biodiversity.

Wildlife groups said there had been "some progress" in developing plans to tackle the nature crisis in Wales, but warned they were still "far from what is needed".The latest UK State of Nature 2023 report provides a detailed picture of how nature is faring and reveals the devastating scale of nature loss across the UK, the pressures affecting nature, and what is needed to address nature loss. Figures are presented in the report as UK findings in most cases. Where UK information is not available, results are presented for Great Britain and Northern Ireland separately.

The State of Nature Report 2023 reveals the abundance of 753 species studied has declined by 19% on average across the UK since 1970. Using Red List criteria, an assessment of 10,008 species found 16% (almost 1,500 species) are now threatened with extinction in Great Britain. The State of Nature report incorporates data from 60 research and conservation organisations drawing on monitoring schemes and biological recording centres, to provide a benchmark for the status of the UK’s wildlife. Previous editions were published in 2013, 2016 and 2019. Along with the UK report, separate reports are published for each country - including Wales. According to the report, changes in the way we manage our land for farming, and climate change were the biggest causes of wildlife decline on our land, rivers and lakes. Land management, pollution and non-native invasive species are also key drivers of species declines. At sea, and around our coasts, it was as a result of unsustainable fishing, climate change and marine development. Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) The Biodiversity Intactness Index is a measure of the proportion of species still present in an area and their abundance, despite human impacts. The most recent estimate of the global BII is 77% which is substantially lower than the 90% level suggested as necessary to keep within planetary boundaries needed to maintain healthy functioning ecosystems. The UK has a BII of 42%, which is by a substantial margin lower than the global average. The UK index is also lower than other small, post-industrial, densely populated countries in western Europe, like the Netherlands and Belgium. Hope for the future There is hope. It is possible to reverse biodiversity losses through habitat restoration, sustainable agricultural practices and mitigating climate change. The UK are party to a new set of international biodiversity targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): the Global Biodiversity Framework. To support the delivery of these, each UK country (including Wales) has committed to developing and implementing national biodiversity strategies. In many cases, countries have developed (or are committed to developing) legally binding targets to restore nature (Wales- by the end of this Senedd term in 2026). In the report they have grouped the CBD targets into the five broad areas:

• Improving species status
• Increasing nature-friendly farming, forestry and fisheries
• Expanding and managing protected areas
• Increasing ecosystem restoration
• Co-ordinating our response

However, nature recovery cannot be achieved by governments, statutory organisations and nature charities alone. Every sector of society has to play its part if we are to recover species abundance and reduce the risk of extinction and the report highlights ways in which we as individuals can make a contribution to nature. The report also acknowledges the tremendous efforts of thousands of volunteers in producing the State of Nature report giving up their time to help record and monitor wildlife.

State of Nature 2023 - report on the UK’s current biodiversity

State of Nature Wales 2023 State of Nature Wales 2023 shows that since careful monitoring of 380 Welsh species began in 1994, the numbers of those species has declined on average by 20%. Moth species on average showed the strongest decline at 43%. The extinction risk of 3,897 species was also assessed using Red List criteria and found that 18% (one in six) were at risk of extinction including plants and animals such as fen orchid, water vole and sand lizard and more than 2% are already extinct in Wales. Well-known species like the Atlantic Salmon and Curlew have also suffered critical declines in Wales. Bats show an average increase of 76% since 1998, primarily driven by large increases in two bat species that are recovering from historic declines thanks to increased protection of the places they live. Some butterfly species showing signs of recovery too. The Biodiversity Intactness Index measure for Wales is 37%. Although similar to other parts of the UK, it ranks amongst the lowest globally. Hope for the Future In Wales, there are a number of projects and initiatives which have the potential to make a real difference for nature. Natur am Byth - Wales’ flagship species recovery programme and major habitat projects restoring rivers, bogs and fens and sand dunes are underway. Examples of successful species projects in the report include protection of Little Terns in Denbighshire that has enabled the main Welsh breeding colony to become one of the most important in Britain, and peatland restoration in Ceredigion that has maintained the population of Large Heath Butterflies. National schemes such Local Places for Nature, Nature Networks, National Peatland Project and the National Forest scheme are delivering for nature across Wales. A new Sustainable Farming Scheme operating from 2025, will reward farmers for maintaining and creating wildlife habitat, with grants too for farms to collaborate on landscape-scale work to boost biodiversity. Wildlife groups said there had been "some progress" in developing plans to tackle the nature crisis in Wales, but warned they were still "far from what is needed". A Welsh Government spokeswoman said the government would "carefully consider the ideas for further action on nature contained within this important report." The Welsh government has also committed to putting new targets on nature recovery into law by the end of this Senedd term in 2026.

Wales - State of Nature

After six and half years, the Welsh Raised Bogs LIFE Project has reached a triumphant conclusion after restoring hundreds of hectares of peatland at six raised bogs in across the nation.
Raised bogs are one of Wales’ rarest and most important habitats and, because of their environmental interest and importance, they are designated Special Areas of Conservation
The £4.5m project restored raised bogs at Cors Caron near Tregaron; Cors Fochno near Borth; Cors Goch near Trawsfynydd; Rhos Goch near Builth Wells, Esgyrn Bottom & Cernydd Carmel.

The project has achieved a great deal, including:
• Clearing the equivalent of 736 Principality Stadium pitches of invasive plants. This includes Molinia grass, birch, willow and rhododendron.
• Installing 150 peat dams on the bogs to retain water.
• Installing 114km of water retaining peat bunds on raised bogs; the same distance as driving from Cardiff to Carmarthen.

Read more here

Text sourced from NRW.
Cors Caron © NRW

Temperate rainforests occur on less than 1% of the planet’s surface, which makes them an irreplaceable part of Welsh cultural and natural heritage and an international priority for conservation. High moisture levels, stable temperatures and clean air provide the perfect conditions for the dazzling diversity of lichens, mosses and liverworts. Rainforest habitats are especially important for rare woodland specialist bats such as the Barbastelle bat and Lesser Horseshoe bat and woodland bird specialist species such as Pied flycatcher, Wood warbler and Common redstart. Exact communities of species vary depending on tree cover, local geology, topography, microclimate and land use, meaning no two rainforests are the same.

The report published by the Alliance for Wales' Rainforests establishes an ecological baseline for rainforest condition in Wales. Through the analysis of existing biological datasets, the generation of new data, and the pooling of our collective expertise, we outline the actions required to restore Wales’ temperate rainforest and create a healthier, better connected and more resilient rainforest landscape.

The Alliance for Wales’ Rainforests
The Alliance for Wales' Rainforests (AWR) is a partnership of organisations dedicated to safeguarding these precious habitats. Through collaboration, the Alliance works to highlight the ecological, environmental, and cultural importance of Wales’ temperate rainforests and champion their positive management and recovery into the future.

Text based on AWR source

Ceunant Llennyrch National Nature Reserve © NRW

Over 4300 participants took part in the public survey in response to the question of whether they supported or did not support beavers living wild in Wales.

An overwhelming majority of respondents - 88.70%, supported beavers living wild in Wales.

The top reasons given for support included (among others): improving biodiversity and wetland habitats; waterway management (e.g. flood alleviation); and a view of beavers as a native species.

The top reasons given for opposition included (among others): negative impacts on migratory fish; disturbance to current ecology; and negative impacts on river systems and flooding.
The research team were not tasked with making the decision whether beavers should or should not be living wild in Wales. They did however, offer 3 reflections based on the responses received.

• Reflection 1: The results of this survey are consistent with those of similar previous surveys undertaken in other contexts throughout Great Britain
• Reflection 2: There is observable polarisation in the perceptions here expressed. Treating the future of beavers in Wales as a binary ‘yes or no’ decision risks escalating existing social tensions
• Reflection 3: Whether beavers will be present or absent in future, discussion will need to be sensitive and move beyond binary debate, providing opportunities for cross-party listening and dialogue.

You can read the report here

This study was commissioned by North Wales Wildlife Trust with funding received through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government. The project was undertaken by independent researchers from the University of Exeter; North Wales Wildlife Trust did not have oversight of the analysis.

Text modified from University of Exeter survey report
Beaver © David Parkyn / Cornwall Wildlife Trust