Clear definition of ‘sustainable land management’ needed, says National Assembly Committee

19 May 2014

A clear definition of sustainable land management is needed to both protect our natural environment and the people and businesses which earn their living from it, says the National Assembly’s Environment and Sustainability Committee.

The Committee believes a nationally agreed and embedded definition will bring clarity and certainty about what land managers are expected to deliver.

Land managers must also be given the tools and information needed to deliver in a manner which suits their specific circumstances.

The Committee visited and took evidence from a number of farms, conservation bodies, national park projects and rural businesses as part of its inquiry, producing a map showing examples of best practice in Wales and further afield.

It concluded that more must be done to share the latest data and innovation to close the knowledge gap between those developing new research and techniques, and those working in the sector.

“Pinning down a definition of sustainable land management proved extremely difficult during our inquiry, but it was something everyone agreed was necessary to give land managers a firm footing from which to work,” said Alun Ffred Jones AM, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee.

“What wasn’t difficult to see was the number of excellent examples around Wales where the delicate balance between conservation and commercial enterprise is being sympathetically handled.

“We took our inquiry to barns, farm kitchens, the backs of Land Rovers and research laboratories and saw for ourselves the hard work and innovation which is being put into the environmental and agricultural sector.

“But we believe there is a knowledge gap between the latest information and innovation from research centres and those working on the ground.”

The Committee makes 14 recommendations in its report including:

• That the Welsh Government refines its definition of ‘sustainable management’. This should be done before the introduction of the Environment Bill, and preferably feature in the draft Bill the Minister for Natural and Resources and Food has committed to providing by the end of 2014.

• That the Welsh Government explores ways in which existing schemes, such as Glastir, can be designed to empower land owners to take decisions about how sustainable land management is delivered on the ground; and

• That the Welsh Government ensures that the Rural Development Plan and the revision of the Glastir scheme are utilised to drive better transfer of knowledge from our research centres to land managers on the ground and to support and facilitate the transfer of knowledge between land managers.

More information about the sustainable land management inquiry can be found here.