The Pumlumon Projects
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Supported by Aggregate Industries
and The Rothschild Foundation
and The Rothschild Foundation
The Pumlumon Projects
The Pumlumon Project is about changing the way we manage the countryside in the uplands to make sure the natural environment is as healthy as possible. This work will also help bring money into the area from tourism and will help create new jobs and new skills. We will work with local people and communities so that they are involved with the plans and so that we can protect and respect the local heritage.
The Wildlife Trusts
Intrinsic Value
The Pumlumon area holds over 9,000ha of key habitats including river valleys, semi-natural woodland, species-rich grassland, heather moorland and blanket bog. By restoring existing habitats and creating new ones we don’t just build corridors and connections that allow animals and plants to migrate through the landscape; we also make the area more enjoyable and interesting for people through the increase in wildlife and more varied scenery.
The Wildlife Trusts
Emotional Value
The Pumlumon Project aims to connect people with nature through activities that support health and well-being and demonstrate the importance of the natural world. The ultimate measure of success is whether local people share our aims and want to support the project. Volunteering, for example, provides more than people realise. The practical side brings health benefits and the opportunity to see reserves in a more privileged way. There’s an opportunity to make friends easily because all of the volunteers share an interest in wildlife.
The Wildlife Trusts
Financial Value
The Pumlumon area has the potential to absorb and store hug amounts of carbon at a very modest costs. On one holding we blocked 11km (6.8 miles) of ditches, restoring 105ha of peat bog, and safeguarding 82,500 tonnes of carbon. The value of this land in carbon terms is around £210/ha.
The Wildlife Trusts
Societal Value
It is now widely accepted that there is a direct link between upland land management and the severity of lowland flooding. Previous studies have shown how strategic tree planting, restoring hedgerows, fencing out watercourses and reducing stocking levels all help to increase the permeability of upland soils, reducing rapid run-off during heavy rain. Pumlumon is the source of eight major river systems: the Severn, Wye, Rheidol, Ystwyth, Elan, Teifi, Tywi and Irfon. At least three million people depend on water which falls as rain in the Pumlumon Project area. Because storing carbon, reducing flooding and improving wildlife benefits the whole of society, we anticipate that farmers and other landowners will be paid for the new ways they manage the land.
The Wildlife Trusts
Get Involved
Community Participation - People are our most important and effective ‘tools’ for looking after wildlife and the environment. We have made it our priority to involve and inspire people with the natural environment in an exciting and inclusive manner
Land Management - We provide advice about “good whole farm conservation management” through liaison with landholders to champion wildlife-friendly farming. We seek to develop close working relationships with farmers, to raise awareness of conservation incentive schemes and encourage landholders to enter into agri-environment, organic and woodland grant schemes.
Funding Partnership - Government acknowledges that the nature of environmental management is shifting towards a landscape-scale or ecosystems approach and the long term benefits provided by the natural world to surrounding communities and the economy as a whole. To achieve sustainable land management we need financial support. Funding of £200,000 a year will ensure development work and four full-time posts delivering the habitat management.
For more information, please visit http://www.montwt.co.uk/what-we-do/living-landscapes/pumlumon-project