BIODIVERSITY

How can we look after our environment? A clear understanding is essential - HABITAT MATTERS can help in several ways:

• Advice on suitable management (including stock type & grazing, cutting regimes for grassland) to maintain / enhance the habitat

• Creation of new habitat (eg: haymeadow, woodland, wetland) with advice on management and recommendation on plant / tree species

• Assistance with funding applications

• Whole-farm plans to identify key habitats & species and provide recommendations on the ideal management

• Identification of existing habitats and recommendations on how they can be managed for educational / visitor benefit

Biodiversity is the variety and abundance of life on Earth. It includes all species of plants & animals, ranging from bacteria & fungi, flowering plants & large trees through to insects, amphibians & reptiles, fish, birds & mammals (including humans). It covers the varieties of plants & animals that that are typical of the range of habitats that we are familiar with - be it hay meadow, wetland, coastal heath, woodland, hedgerow and many more.

Biodiversity is closely linked to economics; clean, healthy soils & water are more productive, foods, medicines and raw materials are obtained from different plants and animals while the existence & awareness of different plants and animals together with the diversity of habitats/landscapes they form are important to social well-being and are often a source of inspiration for artists.

A good example is the clean, green environment of West Wales, where biodiversity is important for tourism; many visitors are attracted by the wildflowers of Pembrokeshire, the birdlife (including Red Kites & Chough) and by the landscape of hedges, woodland, rivers and farmland of the area. The income they bring to the area is crucial, whether to the farmhouse bed-and-breakfast or to the large visitor attractions. Apart from accomodation, holidaymakers also need food, entertainment, souvenirs......the list is endless....and the opportunities for the local economy are huge.

Many farms throughout Wales are actively participating in Tir Gofal, an agri-environmental scheme, run by the Countryside Council for Wales, which helps to pay for the management and creation of different habitats in the recognition that farming and a healthy environment are closely linked. Schemes such as this, are essential to the green economy - a simple example is hedgerow management; by looking after the field boundaries using traditional hedge-laying skills, coppicing and planting with local provenance species and then fencing to protect the hedge from livestock, it provides employment for local contractors & tree nurseries....it encourages small, local businesses to set-up and the local economy to become more sustainable.