North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve ANNUAL REPORT 2012 North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve ANNUAL REPORT 2012 Foreword I have been in post as Chairman of the Biosphere Reserve Partnership for less than a year and it has been, and still is, a steep learning curve. I am indebted to my predecessor Mike Moser for the way he guided and led the Biosphere during its formative years. As I have perused past papers and spoken with those associated with the Biosphere over the last few months, I have been impressed by the powerful legacy of the clarity of Mike's vision for the Biosphere and his understanding of how helpful a UNESCO designation could be to north Devon. In uncertain times, the Biosphere's commitment to sustainability, with equal emphasis given to social, economic and environmental aspects, has never been more important. Treating any of these in isolation will not do and I am impressed by how the Biosphere staff, led so ably by Andy Bell, have bought into and promote this conception of sustainability. The ecosystem services approach clearly captures this and has given an impetus to new ways of thinking about how we manage the environment and capture its value for local residents, whilst at the same time, recognising the incalculable intrinsic value of the natural world. North Devon has been at the forefront of this new thinking, and the Biosphere has been key to that. I have mentioned uncertain times already, but the one certainty is that public funding will continue to be under severe pressure in the coming years. As we celebrate the first ten years of the Biosphere and record its solid achievements during the past year, we can take nothing for granted for the years to come. The Partnership will need to work together to find creative ways forward to maintain the momentum of the past decade. Michael Winter Professor Michael Winter OBE 2 North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve ANNUAL REPORT 2012 Sustainable Land Management Farming and forestry are the major land uses in North Devon. NDBS is working with partners to support farming and forestry that helps reverse decades of wildlife decline, improves the quality of our watercourses and contributes to a sustainable future for all. Nature Improvement Area: The £3.6 million Nature Improvement Area project began in 2012. It provides advice and support for land managers and engages local communities with the value and role of nature in delivering a range of ecosystem services and enriching our lives. The project will run until 2015 and will deliver more, bigger and better quality areas of culm grassland, woodland and river habitat and will target support so that those areas are more connected. In its first year over 140 site visits have been undertaken and around 350 hectares of habitat have been restored. Over 30 community events have been held with local communities to equip them with the knowledge and confidence to protect, enhance and increase engagement with the environment. Whether it’s habitat management activities like hedge laying, otter holt building, swaling , scrub clearance and coppicing or guided walks and environmental arts; participation and volunteering is encouraged. We are developing long-term relationships with local schools and more than 200 school children visited the river Torridge with a storyteller to develop their own environmental stories about ‘Giants in the Forest’ Other school children have planted trees on a farm in West Putford. The North Devon Biosphere Partnership developed and submitted the NIA proposal to Defra based on the 72,000 hectares of the River Torridge Catchment. 3 North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve ANNUAL REPORT 2012 Catchment Sensitive Farming: The Taw, Torridge and North Devon Streams Strategic Partnership between Natural England, Environment Agency and the Biosphere Reserve was set up to help bring about compliance with the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Each organisation contributes staff time and/or budget to help reduce diffuse pollution from agriculture. During 2012, the fourth year of the partnership the target areas were the sub catchments of the River Waldon and the Cookbury Stream where river quality is poor with respect to phosphates, phytobenthos and soils. Thirty two 1-to-1 farm visits were carried out and followed up by an in-depth report looking at diffuse pollution problems, possible solutions and funding. Three farmers’ workshops were held during the year looking at Soils & Nutrients, Nutrient Management Planning and Farm Infrastructure & Regulations. Sixty farmers from the target area attended these workshops. The existence of the CSF Partnership helped secure £725,000 of grant aid for farmers to help reduce diffuse pollution from agriculture. The CSF Capital Grant Scheme funded 50% of the cost of improvements such as roofing over manure storage and livestock gathering yards, roofs to slurry and silage stores and watercourse fencing and associated works. Because the target area is predominantly dairy, there are particular problems associated with farmyards and buildings. To help resolve these problems the partnership agreed to carry out 11 farm infrastructure visits and reports. These in-depth reports have proved popular with farmers and have identified many problems around farmyards and buildings. The reports offer solutions and possible sources of funding to help cover the cost of improvements. 4 North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve ANNUAL REPORT 2012 Taw River Improvement Project (TRIP): This project is a partnership led by the Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) on behalf of the Biosphere Reserve Partnership. It involves £1.8 million of restoration work over three years (2012 to 2015) to improve water quality across the whole catchment and helping achieve the goals of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The TRIP is carrying out targeted advice, aiming to reduce the amount of pollution entering the river Taw. The Biosphere Reserve is responsible for co-ordinating the work of the various partners (WRT, DWT, FWAG SW and Silvanus) to help ensure that farmers are contacted by one organisation only in the first place but that if specialist advice is needed from a partner then this is brought in afterwards. Two successful workshops have been held in Chulmleigh looking at woodland advice and at setting up a Huntacott Water/ Little Dart Management Group. Both were well attended and have led to follow up visits. Part of the project involves further work to help ensure the survival of the endangered freshwater pearl mussel. A Habitat Walkover Survey was organised by the Service using volunteers to record the current condition of 5km of the river Mole, extending upstream of the survey carried out in 2011. Funding is also being used to remove river obstacles such as weirs. The Westcountry Rivers Trust have helped remove the North Wyke Weir which was proving to be an obstruction to fish passage particularly during periods of low flow. 5 North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve ANNUAL REPORT 2012 Countryside access We want to maximise the amenity, wildlife and cultural value of our world class landscapes by bringing people and places together. The Tarka Trail: 2012 has been a busy year, with the Biosphere Service continuing to co-ordinate the management of the Tarka Trail between Meeth and Braunton. The goal is to ensure that it continues to serve as a magnet for visitors, a regular area for exercise and relaxation locals and a haven for wildlife. The 33 miles on former railway between Braunton and Meeth is only part of a total Tarka Trail route of 163miles. In order to improve the management and promotion of this regionally significant route, the Service has led the formation of a Tarka Trail Manager’s Group. That group has agreed a shared vision for the Trail between 2012 and 2022 and developed a Management Plan for the entire route. Shared Vision: "To increase the use of the Tarka Trail with an accompanying increase in economic and social benefit, and to ensure the entire Trail is an example of sustainable management" Over 1 million uses: During the period of this report, 9 automatic cycle counters between Chivenor and Petrockstowe recorded over half a million cycle passes. This can be doubled (using other trails as a guide) to just over 1 million to give an approximation of total use including pedestrians. This level of usage demonstrates the significant socio- economic value of the Trail to the area. 6 North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve ANNUAL REPORT 2012 South West Coast Path: The Service is responsible for maintaining the South West Coast Path in northern Devon, except where it runs on National Trust land. Our management keeps the path clear for walkers, looks after path furniture and other infrastructure such as signs and stairs, deals with health and safety concerns and maintains a high quality wildlife and landscape corridor. Budgets are tight and little money is readily available for improvements as opposed to maintenance but a significant achievement in 2012 was securing external funding from the Rural Development Programme England (RDPE) and the South West Coast Path Association (SWCPA) for path improvements at Watermouth Cove. The path there is rated as the second most dangerous spot on the Coast Path in Devon and over a dozen or so years plans have come and gone to improve it so that walkers won’t have to use the busy A361 with the associated dangers. Due in large measure to the external funding and the persistence of the Service, the County’s Highways Team, Engineering Design Group and local Members, a scheme to create a path beside the road was approved in March 2013. Work will be complete by the end of the calendar year. Other improvements part funded externally include the installation of brass directional footprints through Ilfracombe.