A delegation from Gylfinir Cymru met recently with Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister responsible for climate change and rural affairs in Welsh Government, to discuss the challenges facing Curlews breeding in the Welsh countryside.
The Deputy First Minister commented positively on the work achieved already to put the plight of Curlews on the political and policy map. We highlighted some of the collaborative efforts initiated as a result of the Wales Action Plan for the Recovery of Curlew, especially in the Important Curlew Areas, and thanked Welsh Government for funding the Curlew Connections Project and a specialist adviser on species recovery in NRW, who co-ordinates action and shares learning across the community of Curlew champions.
The Deputy First Minister recognised the urgency of the crisis facing Curlews and that saving them needs sustained work over multiple years. We highlighted the long-term commitment required to have ‘boots on the ground’ expertise to help farmers and landowners to help Curlews. Recovery projects in Wales are funded by a range of sources, but all depend to some extent on grants that are already ending or will do so in the next couple of years. He urged Gylfinir Cymru to explore opportunities for sustainable and ethical funding, about which he will set out Welsh Government’s path later this spring.
We had wide-ranging discussions about the multiple-benefits that can be delivered through management for Curlews and their synergy with the four sustainable land management objectives that the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) must adhere to. This included carbon sequestration, water quality and flow through peatland restoration and grassland management, cultural and social benefits for rural communities, and other biodiversity that can thrive in well-managed habitats.
Most breeding Curlew in Wales are on land managed by the farming community, so Gylfinir Cymru believes that an effective SFS is critical to their future. There was universal agreement that this is essential for farmers to have the confidence and money to sustain farming in ways that produces a suite of outputs, Curlews included. The Deputy First Minister said that the recently-announced Integrated Natural Resources Scheme (INRS) is a signal of the direction of travel for the SFS, encouraging farms to collaborate at a landscape-scale. Several of the pilot projects in development involve farmers in key Curlew areas.
The Deputy First Minister welcomed the offer of Gylfinir Cymru to use its members experience and technical knowledge to work with officials developing the SFS. He reiterated Welsh Government’s commitment to saving Curlews as a breeding species in Wales, the highest bird conservation priority in the UK, and confirmed the Government’s support for the Wales Recovery Plan. During 2025, the Gylfinir Cymru partnership will review progress made in the last four years, identify whether threats have increased or receded, and will reprioritise action as required.
Our breeding Curlews are currently wintering on the coasts of western Europe and will soon make their way back to rural Wales. Their future depends on what happens in fields and moorland, but equally on the decisions made by government in Cardiff and beyond. Gylfinir Cymru ensured that the key decision-maker in Wales knows that time is of the essence for saving the cry of the Curlew.
Ian Danby (British Association for Shooting and Conservation), Patrick Lindley (Natural Resources Wales), Huw-Irranca Davies (Deputy First Minister), Lee Oliver (Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust), Amanda Perkins (Curlew Country) and Julian Hughes (RSPB Cymru).