Roger ThomasCountryside Council for Wales
Devolution, the SEB& an ecosystems approach
Roger Thomas - CCW
1536…….....
….and 415 years later
then in 1964
But are we so different?
Context is similar……
Publicservice
cuts
Globalrecession
Rio +20
.…challenge is the same
• Living within natural limits
and
• Demand for ever-higher standards of living
Response is different
• Natural Resource Planning
• Delivery via a Single Environment Body
Progress towards the SEB
Ecosystems Approach - Principles
EquityConservation
SustainableUse
COBD 2004
The Process
Assessment of ecosystem services (Bridgend CBC)
Major contributing features to ecosystem
goods and service
Availability and quality of data
Soil type (and geology of the area of land)
General, strategic level data readily available
Habitat type General, detailed level data available
Position in the landscape General detailed level data available
What management is being implemented
Some detail available
Current
Potential
Opportunities layers created Ecosystem
service opportunity
Greatest potential for service enhancement
Soil Carbon Degraded peat based soils which are currently managed intensely or degraded bogs soils which are heavily drained
Vegetation Carbon Areas within the woodland network which are not planted
Water Regulation Areas upstream of urban settlements on steep slopes where habitats could be restored to help regulate water (e.g. woodland / heathland and hedges)
Pollination Areas where there is little existing evidence of flowering plants
Recreation Areas 300m from an open space or footpaths where there is a high population density [data is at different scale]
Woodland network Previously wooded land near to existing woodlands
Wetland network Flat areas adjacent to existing wetland or the rivers, on land with less nutrient burden
Grassland network Areas with less of a nutrient burden near existing grassland (eg older pasture which can easily revert)
Heathland network Areas adjacent to existing heathlands that are not too heavily managed and therefore are likely to have an appropriate soil nutrient budget
Current and potential ecosystem services
Using the information…….
Supplementary PlanningGuidance
Site Design Briefs
Natural ResourceManagementPlan
April 2014
AONBs – at the sharp end
• local knowledge
• community engagement
• consensus