As the Countryside Council for Wales was completing its 2012-2013 programme of work towards targets agreed with Welsh Government, Chair, Members of Council and Directors felt that it would be appropriate to record key aspects of the work of CCW over its 22 year existence. This book is our way of preserving that record in a form that can be retained by staff and Council Members past and present. CCW has had to ‘learn while doing’, and in many instances what we understand today is the fruit of innovation over the past two decades. Little of the work of CCW has been done alone. Many of the achievements in which we take pride were made in the face of formidable difficulties. Rising to these challenges has been possible only because of the support, advice and active involvement of others who share our passion for the natural environment of Wales. They, like we, know that our ecosystems, and the goods and services that stem from their careful stewardship, are our most valuable asset: our life support system. Together with our many partners in non-governmental organisations, from local community groups of volunteers through to national and international conservation bodies as well as central and local government, we have endeavoured to conserve and protect the natural resources of Wales. We are therefore offering copies of this book to our partners as a tribute to their involvement in our work – a small token of our gratitude for their friendship, support and wise counsel. There is still a great deal to learn, and as we now pass the baton to the new single environment body, Natural Resources Wales, we recognise that the relationships with partners that have been invaluable to the Countryside Council for Wales will be equally crucial to our successor. A Natural Step? The Countryside Council for Wales, 1991 to 2013 A Natural Step? © The Countryside Council for Wales 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an information retrieval system or transmitted by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, photocopying, Internet publication, recording or any other medium without the written consent of the publisher. All the contributing authors have assert their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 to be identified as the authors of this work. Published in the United Kingdom in 2013 by The Countryside Council for Wales Maes-y-Ffynnon Penrhosgarnedd Bangor Gwynedd LL57 2DN 4 A Natural Step? Ramsey Sound Contents Page Foreword 6 Chapter 1 The Societal Context 8 Chapter 2 A Changing Environment – Evolution of CCW 16 Chapter 3 Our Land, Our Landscape 32 Chapter 4 Challenges at Sea 48 Chapter 5 Working with Others 64 Chapter 6 Big Challenges 80 Chapter 7 Protected Areas 96 Chapter 8 People, Education, Access and Recreation 112 Chapter 9 The Science 124 Chapter 10 Passing the Baton 144 Author Biographical Details 160 Picture Credits 161 Index 162 5 A Natural Step? Foreword by Roger Thomas, Chief Executive, CCW .....that a man’s reach should exceed his grasp – or what’s a heaven for? These words of Robert Browning are an apt summary of the philosophy that has underpinned the work of the Countryside Council for Wales over its 22 year existence. Evidence-based, independence of thought, innovative in addressing issues and sound in advice - yes, but above all, expansive in approach, aided by the experimental powers granted to us in legislation. Since the Industrial Revolution, our natural environment has suffered the consequences of being devoid of any meaningful valuation in economic terms. The impacts of development upon our landscapes, habitats and wildlife have historically been paid little more than lip service; never, it seems, has the oft- quoted phrase ‘if it can’t be measured, it can’t be managed’ been more true than in our treatment of the planet we inhabit. We didn’t know how to measure its monetary value and so the environment made only a cameo appearance in our decision-making processes, where financial cost was king. That began to change in the 1990s, at just about the time that CCW was established, with the global recognition of sustainable living as a prerequisite for securing the future of humankind. 1992’s Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro catalysed governments around the world into action and, for a time, there was a real prospect of concerted international action. Individual governments, together with intergovernmental alliances such as the European Union, implemented legislation that was broadly and collectively aimed at reducing our exploitation of natural resources to levels that the environment could, in the long term, support. This activity was supplemented by international movements, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, which continue to argue an evidence-based case for change. In Wales, devolution heralded a further new dawn: our own government… and with a legal duty with respect to sustainable development - at the time one of only three worldwide with such a remit. But whilst in Wales we have been progressing this duty, the first decade of the new millennium has arguably seen the worldwide optimism of the mid-90s dented by inaction and disagreement at the international level. Even those putting the bravest of faces on the outcomes of Copenhagen’s Rio+20 Summit in 2011 could barely claim any success in negotiations at the global level. The challenge remains, yet the time within which we must deliver effective action has shortened; future targets thus become ever more demanding. 6 A Natural Step? Against this backdrop of global intransigence, the development of an ecosystems approach for managing the natural resources of Wales is a bold step towards realising the holy grail of sustainability. Our government’s ambition is to be applauded and supported; with the eyes of Europe upon it, in recent years Wales has become a beacon for our continental neighbours, one which they hope will show them how to manage for a better future. In concept, at least, an ecosystem is a simple thing comprising the rocks, soils, water, air and all living things – biodiversity – within a geographical area prescribed by natural boundaries. It is the way in which these components combine to provide us with our life-support system that we only partly understand. Stewardship of this life-support system amidst the ambiguity surrounding its functioning is a significant challenge but one that Wales recognises must be met head on. Protected areas are a major plank in global conservation policy. Without them, the evidence suggests, our biodiversity would be in an even more parlous state than its present worrying condition. But an ecosystems approach requires a much broader perspective; decisions will have to be made on the specific benefits for which each particular area and its ecosystems will be managed – and the resultant management regime necessary to protect and nurture them will inevitably introduce new constraints on land use. Land management practices that provide such public benefits should therefore also attract financial support from the public purse. This, then, is the context within which CCW bows out, on a note of optimism for a brighter future. Our book reflects some of the challenges and changes to the natural environment over the past two decades. The contributors, who present their own sometimes highly personal views on a range of these issues and the degree of effectiveness of our responses, have been selected because they played a significant part in the story. I am indebted to CCW’s first Chief Executive Ian Mercer, who established the new organisation, and his successor and my predecessor Paul Loveluck, who drove the body forward. Together with our three chairmen, the late Michael Griffiths, John Lloyd Jones and Morgan Parry, and the dedicated service of our members, they created a successful organisation that history will record has punched well above its weight. Very special thanks must go to Sue Parker and Pat O’Reilly. Without their drive and editing and publishing skills this volume could not have been produced. But the unsung heroes of CCW are the staff who, whether through scientific and technical expertise or skills in the essential administrative functions that are the life-blood of any organisation, have made things happen. It is to all of them, with gratitude for their commitment across the years, that this book is dedicated. Beth yw gwladgarwch? Cadw ty mewn cwmwl tystion. What is patriotism? Keeping house in a cloud of witnesses. Waldo Williams 7 A Natural Step? Chapter 1 – The Societal Context In the midst of tensions surrounding environmental policy A consideration of the fortunes of an organisation like CCW and its legacy must begin with the social and political context within which it has operated. Andrew Flynn argues that, because environmental policy impinges on so many interests, decision-makers have turned to making changes to the organisation of environmental policy rather than grappling with difficult policy content; in doing so, they have avoided the frictions that surround it, not least the tension between short-term political horizons and long-term environmental ones. CCW faced some particular difficulties, such as the location of its headquarters so far from the centre of power in Cardiff, and the treatment of its advice as coming from outside government, because it worked so closely with NGOs. Its remit letters, which detail what it must do with its grant-in-aid, proscribe its work in ever greater detail, and introduce new agendas. CCW’s ability to innovate is then illustrated in its work on agri-environment schemes, local-scale landscape mapping and projects with local government.