The Dyfi Biosphere Reserve / Area

The Dyfi Biosphere Area is currently the only biosphere in Wales. It requires re-designation on the basis of new criteria drawn up by UNESCO in 1995.

The current biosphere area includes most of Dyfi SSSI, including Dyfi/Cors Fochno NNR and Ynys-hir RSPB reserve.

In practice, the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) informally defines the biosphere area by the five metre contour around the estuarine system.

Within this area, appropriate zoning has not been formally revised from the original site map, but for practical purposes Cors Fochno is viewed as the core area, with the rest of the NNR, the RSPB and Wildlife Trust reserves being managed largely in line with buffer zone requirements.

Following a review carried out by Oxford University in 2000, it is proposed that the Dyfi biosphere designation be extended to include the wider Dyfi catchment.

The catchment forms a natural, distinct ecological unit. It would also encompass a population within which there is considerable support for a broader biosphere area.

Zoning of the restructured biosphere area would have to be agreed on, and a management plan prepared and implemented with full involvement of stakeholders such as farmers, wildfowlers, local interest groups, educational establishments, and recreational groups.

Links

• UK Biosphere Reserves
• UNESCO Report on the Dyfi Valley Biosphere
• UNESCO