Mission

Nature

A Nature Positive Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park by 2030
What if we go beyond damage limitation? What if our economic activities not only minimize impact, but also enhance ecosystems? nature positive approach enriches biodiversity, stores carbon, purifies water and reduces pandemic risk. nature positive approach enhances the resilience of our planet, our societies and economies.
Johan Rockström
Potsdam Institute For Climate Impact Research

Habitat Recovery

All major habitats in the national park, including grassland, native woodland, upland heathland, and peatland, will be on a pathway to recovery. By 2028 we will see:
Decline Halted
Loss of habitat through land use change is halted, over-exploitation is curtailed, and invasive non-native species are controlled.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest Conserved
All SSSI features are in favourable condition.
Degraded Habitat Restored
Increase in the extent of habitat that is in favourable ecological condition.
Nature Has Returned
Increase the total area for each habitat by restoring transformed land to natural habitat.

Species Conservation

Flagship species that are emblematic of the National Park or specific habitats are increasing in numbers or extent. By 2028:
Threats are reduced
Critical threats to species are reduced, including harmful land & water management and invasive non-nature species.
Numbers Have Increased
The number of each flagship species increases.
Range Has Increased
The range occupied by each flagship species increases.
Brecon Beacons Action Curlew Recovery Project. Image of Curlew

Ecosystem Management

Ecosystem functions and ecosystem services generated by the National Park are enhanced. By 2028:
Resilience is enhanced
Connectivity within and between ecosystems is increased to enhance nature’s ability to adapt to climate change.
Ecosystem Services Supported
All ecosystems within the National Park, including areas under intensive use, are managed to optimise a range of ecosystem services, including food, water, climate and amenity values.
Ecosystems Rehabilitated
Ecosystem risks, including soil erosion, pollution, flooding and fire, are mitigated to support nature and society in adapting to climate change.

Nature

The 2019 Natural Resources Wales State of Natural Resources Report highlighted the loss of 73 species from Wales since the 1970s with a further 666 at risk of extinction.

The State of the Park Report from 2020 found that eight ‘red list’ species were declining by more than 50% in Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park area, including swift, greenfinch, grey wagtail, yellowhammer, curlew, wheatear and rook.

Some of our most familiar birds, such as chaffinch and blue tit, were shown to decline between 25 – 50%. These declines were seen across multiple species and multiple habitats, which indicates wide-ranging problems within ecosystems, with profound consequences for nature and humanity.

The Nature Mission—ensuring that Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park is Nature Positive by 2030—means turning the corner on the current state of decline, and by 2030 putting nature recovery on an upward trajectory.

We need to halt the decline in habitats, restore those that are degraded, and revert some back to nature. We must achieve this without allowing one habitat to trade-off against another . More action must be focused on the 72 biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the National Park to ensure they are in favourable condition and exemplars of conservation. Specific attention is needed to arrest the decline of flagship species and to increase their numbers and range, by reducing threats and expanding habitat. Ecosystem services generated by the National Park – from drinking water, to carbon sequestration, to a place to connect with nature – are vital to those in and beyond the National Park. More coherent, more joined-up and bigger scale action is needed to safeguard these services, and support sustainable local food production.

UK National Parks are Category V protected areas, meaning they are ‘living working landscapes’. It is vital that National Parks contribute fully to the UK Government’s pledge to achieve 30% of land and sea protected for nature by 2030, and further that we meet the recommendations for designated landscapes set out by the Welsh Government arising from the ‘Biodiversity Deep Dive’. The main habitats in the National Park are grasslands (including both semi-natural and improved grasslands, and calcareous as well as acid grasslands), woodlands (broadleaf, conifer and mixed), heathland, peatland, farmland, and wetlands and open water. The National Park contains 104 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), of which 72 (69%) are biological SSSIs and 13 (13%) are mixed. Biological SSSIs account for 12,668 hectares (9% of the National Park) and mixed SSSIs account for 16,041 hectares (12% of the Park). SSSIs include all the major habitats of the Park (grassland, peatland, woodland, heathland, wetland and waterbody)

Our vision is for the National Park in its entirety to be functioning effectively as a protected area, supporting land uses and management strategies that contribute to habitat recovery, species conservation and ecosystem functioning. Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park Authority is guided by the British Ecological Society recommendations for National Parks to “deliver for nature in the long term (effectiveness)” and “build ecological resilience and improve biodiversity (in the face of climate change and other environmental pressures)”.

Achieving a positive outcome for nature challenges us to evaluate the current state and trends in the National Park, and leverage significant additional resources where they are most needed. Effective collaboration, at a much larger scale, will be at the heart of delivering impact. Farmers form the biggest group of land users in the National Park, and will be central to the innovations needed to achieve the nature mission.

Our natural environment sustains us, physically, mentally, culturally and spiritually.

Y Bannau: The Future is a living landscape, a mosaic of natural, semi-natural and managed habitats and ecosystems. Home to woodlands, peatlands, moorlands, pasture, meadows and more.

Our role is to use our skills and data to understand this complexity, to use this information and knowledge to work in partnership with all those who own and manage the land of the Park (including ourselves) to protect, repair and regenerate our key habitats, species and ecosystems.

 

Our natural environment sustains us, physically, mentally, culturally and spiritually.
We will explore and channel the emerging economic and social drivers for environmental change to support farmers, landowners and communities to establish new ways of working that support thriving communities whilst repairing and restoring our essential ecosystems.

As an organisation Bannau Brycheiniog commits to the following for Nature

Explore
We will explore and channel the emerging economic and social drivers for environmental change to support farmers, landowners and communities to establish new ways of working that support thriving communities whilst repairing and restoring our essential ecosystems.
Embed
We will embed nature recovery and the conservation of our living landscape in all our activities within the National Park, building on our role to conserve and protect to become beacons for nature recovery in all that we do.
Exemplars
We will be exemplars through prioritising the protection and recovery of our own land for nature recovery, and target our support in priority protected species, habitats and ecosystems within the National Park, including SSSIs and SACs.
Evidence
We will use our data and that of our partners and researchers to develop Nature Recovery Action Plans, prioritise species, habitats and ecosystems of the National Park to protect and restore, and to monitor progress.
Establish Partnerships
We will establish partnerships with landowners and the agricultural sector to explore and establish regenerative farming and land management, that also supports our rural economy and prepares us for the future.
Share Tools
We will work in partnership to share best practice tools and strategies, supporting everyone to understand how they can actively contribute towards conservation and nature recovery, including managing invasive non-native species.

Nature Voices

The voices of Brycheiniog is a series of creative stories, poems, songs, and postcards from the people of Brycheiniog. Immerse yourself in their stories, values and passion for Bannau Brycheiniog.
Letter from Mair Brychan to Dylan Brychan