Ten-year action plan launched to save curlew in Wales

A large-scale recovery plan to reverse the decline of curlew in Wales has being launched today.

The Wales Action Plan for the Recovery of Curlew is written and led by Gylfinir Cymru / Curlew Wales, a partnership made up of a number of organisations including BASC. 

The Gylfinir Cymru partnership is made up of: 

Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, BASC, The British Trust for Ornithology, The Countryside Alliance, Cofnod, Curlew Country, Denbighshire County Council, The Farmers’ Union of Wales, Natural Resources Wales, The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, The National Farmers’ Union Wales, The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, The National Trust, The RSPB, The Snowdonia National Park Authority, The Welsh Ornithological Society and Welsh Government.

The partnership is working with the Welsh Government to address the chronic decline in population and geographic distribution of the curlew across Wales.

The decline of the curlew in Wales is so significant that it is predicated that it could be on the brink of extinction by 2033 if action is not taken now.

Ten-year action plan

The Action Plan sets out a 10-year programme to conserve breeding curlews and to stabilise the decline in breeding curlews in Wales.

The action plan addresses four main themes:

• Identify a network of Important Curlew Areas (ICAs) in wales to maximise opportunities and provide a focus for targeted conservation action.
• Reverse the current drivers of low productivity (predators and grassland management practices during the breeding season).
• Ensure a package of support is available to enable all farmers and land managers to collaborate at the landscape scale to deliver the outcomes required by breeding curlew using the best available evidence.
• Support public awareness campaigns and education to influence consumer choices and demands for agricultural products that support breeding curlew friendly habitats.

For more information on the work of Gylfinir Cymru and access to the Wales Action Plan for the Recovery of Curlew, visit the Curlew Recovery Partnership website here.

The partnership has produced two key films to support the launch of the action plan, detailing some of the work that is already being done in Wales and what more needs to happen. Watch the films here.

Want to hear more news from BASC Wales? Head to our dedicated pages here.