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Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust Biodiversity Matters II

The Conservation Strategy of the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust 2006-2016

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Intensive agriculture, driven by subsidies, has been the most significant cause of habitat loss and species decline. Yet, because more than three-quarters of the Welsh landscape is farmed, our farmed landscape still supports the majority of our terrestrial wildlife.

It appears inevitable that farming will undergo radical change over the next ten years. It is therefore more important than ever to ensure that changing policy delivers a quantum switch to a wildlife friendly management of the "wider countryside". Farmland has suffered sustained losses in the post war years. Since 1990 alone, 25% of the UK's old hedgerows have been removed and unimproved pastures are currently being lost at a rate of 10% a year. Hedgerows are a particularly important habitat and provide a home for the Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer and many other birds, a feeding ground for the Lesser Horseshoe Bat and cover for Brown Hare. Historically, traditionally managed unimproved pasture provided vital habitat for Curlew, Brown Hare, Skylark and the Meadow Brown Butterfly to breed successfully.

What are the threats to farmland Wildlife?

• Both intensive and neglect of farming.
• Inappropriate land management, removal of hedgerows, drainage, infilling of ponds.
• Loss of mixed farming in favour of single intensive production.

Farmland Action Plan

Action

• We will seek to develop close working relationships with farmers, to raise awareness of conservation incentive schemes, to encourage and assist them to pay greater attention to wildlife and to conserve, reinstate and enhance wildlife features.
• We will use our own land holdings to demonstrate wildlife-friendly management and we will seek to raise general public awareness not only of the past losses of wildlife on farmed land but of the environmental and social benefits to be gained from more wildlife friendly farming.
• We will work with the farming community to establish a network of Wildlife Sites and Private Nature Reserves across Montgomeryshire.

Advice

• Provide advice about "good whole farm conservation management" through liaison with landholders.
• Encourage landholders to enter into agri-environment, organic and woodland grant schemes. Survey and monitoring
• Undertake surveys for Yellowhammer, Brown Hare, Skylark, Swallows, House Martins, Meadow Brown Butterfly, Lesser Horseshoe Bats, and species rich hedgerows; with the help of local recorders and volunteers.

Lobbying

• Champion wildlife-friendly farming by influencing NAW policy, UK policy and wider CAP reform.
• Lobby for sufficient incentives to be made available for wildlife-friendly farming to ensure achievement of relevant BAP 20 AP targets.