Monday 9 December 2013

£6m and the State of Welsh Nature

The State of Nature Report, published May 2103, was a damning indictment of human impact on the natural world. Iolo’s impassioned speech cut through the bullshit and, in case you missed it first time around, here it is again:


The Welsh Government response is the creation of a £6m Fund for Nature to be spent by March 2015. Ideas are needed by 16th December, and presumably the best ideas will be able to bid for various grant schemes to be offered in early 2014. Government guidelines are: ‘Ideas need to be practical action for managing land and water that will benefit nature, create opportunities for new jobs and income and support communities.’

I submitted some ideas prepared with colleagues and went along to a workshop at Llandudno Junction today. The purpose was to share ideas and seek synergies but I left with the feeling that everyone was in broadcast mode, arguing their particular niche. How will the facilitators make sense of the flipcharts and the multi-coloured post-it notes bearing messages such as ‘carbon’ and ‘flood alleviation’?  

I hope there is someone able to cut through the self interest. Speaking of which, and on behalf of Natur Cymru, I submitted an idea titled: ‘Actions speak louder than words but words make actions go further.’

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