Natur Cymru

Issue 33

Mission nearly impossible - saving the world from climate change

Tackling climate change has become the subject of high level World Summit politics. Can ordinary people have any part to play in this? A group set out from Wales to try to influence the politicians. VICKY MOLLER recounts how Welsh mums, dads and toddlers talked to the negotiators of world agreement.

Summary

Hafod cheese label: Sam Holden

Farming with the grain of nature

Historically, habitats of the greatest value for wildlife were largely the by-product of farming decisions. It is a recent phenomenon that farming has been able to eliminate wildlife and use land as a feedstock for an industrial process. As a result, nature conservation has adopted protectionist measures to conserve bits and pieces of habitat, and has become separated from farming. PATRICK HOLDEN, Director of the Soil Association, argues that this separation is unhealthy, and what is needed is a sustainable approach to farming which can deliver both food and nature.

Dwarf willow Salix herbacea: Ray Woods

Montane rescue! A threatened habitat

The montane heaths on the tops of our highest mountains are a rare and precious habitat, on which all manner of conservation designations have been bestowed. None of them seem able to stop the conversion of this magical dwarf heath to wildlife-poor acid grassland, mainly as a result of grazing pressure. BARBARA JONES makes a plea for something to be done.

Dyfi Biosphere landscape: Dafydd Fryer

Dyfi Biosphere

After five years’ hard work the Dyfi area this year was awarded international status as a Biosphere – reflecting the local wish to tie in education, development and environmental conservation within one geographical area. Part of the area was designated a Biosphere back in the 1970s but there came a chance to recharge and start afresh. The Dyfi Biosphere is the only area of its kind in Wales, and it now belongs to a wider network of similar areas across the world. HELEN HOWELLS explains the background and the plans.

This article is written in Welsh. A translation is available on request.

Small copper butterfly: © Richard Becker www.richardbecker.co.uk

Away from the coalface - reflections on working for Welsh wildlife

JULIAN BRANSCOMBE recently moved his family from Gwent up to Orkney. A regular contributor to this magazine, he has previously written about the threat to the Gwent levels, the restoration of nature at Wyeswood Common and the wildlife and local communities of the South Wales coalfield. Here, with the benefit of a clear view from a distance, he considers the threats which wildlife faces and the tasks before the Wildlife Trusts.

Wild flowers at Dow Corning: WTA Amy Mulkern

In business with nature

The Welsh landscape may have paid a price for its industrial past, but there are signs that attitudes are changing for the better, says AMY MULKERN, Welsh Wildlife Partnerships Manager.

Hydropower: Mandy Marsh

A rural model - communities get resourceful

The Green Valleys, a project in the Brecon Beacons run by local people, is bringing benefits to rural communities and their environment, as GARETH ELLIS explains.

Birdsong at dawn: Gaynor Ainscough

Wildlife for kids

BRIAN MACDONALD has been running wildlife activities for the past three years, to share an appreciation of the wildlife of his home ground in Meirionydd with visitors of all ages, especially children. Four diary entries give a flavour of these events.