How brave decision not to rebuild as storms and floods wrecked farmland paid off for nature
The National Trust decided not to a damaged sea wall protecting farmland, instead allowing nature to take its course.
Tuesday 8 June 2021 18:04, UK
The National Trust says a large area of former grazing pasture in Wales has been transformed into a nature-rich salt marsh after it decided to not repair a damaged sea wall following storms.
Cwm Ivy on the Gower Peninsula was used for grazing sheep - but following severe weather in the winter of 2013-14, the 100-acre site was flooded after the 300-year-old sea wall came down.
Rather than rebuild it, the trust, which owns the land, decided to let the sea in.
"I was in shock on the day - when I came down to the site which had been an agricultural field the previous day, was now three foot under seawater," said Alan Kearsley-Evans, the National Trust general manager for Gower and Brecon.
The decision not to repair the wall was part of the trust's Shifting Shores programme, which means it does not try to hold back the tides in certain areas.
"We don't defend against the sea - we don't do it. We understand habitats need to be dynamic, things need to be able to change, if things stay static it's not good for nature and it's not good for the planet in the end," added Mr Kearsley-Evans.
Seven years on, the results of the decision - controversial as it was at the time - are clear to see, with an abundance of flower and fauna.
"Most people can see the benefits - most people can see we've got really great nature here.
"If you come down on a quiet morning you may see an otter, if you're lucky you'll see a kingfisher fishing in one of the pools where the tide has come in, we have had osprey hanging around for a month or so on their way back to Africa - so people can see the benefits now, they can see what we're trying to do."
The approach is the only one of its kind in Wales - and experts in climate change and geography feel that in areas without housing and businesses to protect, letting coastal erosion take its natural course can have huge benefits.
Mary Gagen is a professor of Geography at Swansea University.
She said: "I'm really supportive of what they've done at Cwm Ivy and I think it's something we're going to have to look at more and more."
Prof Gagen continued: "We know we're going to lose nearly 1,200 hectares of the inter-tidal area just from coastal squeeze and coastal pressure by the end of the century so we need these small areas where we're giving some land back to nature."
Prof Gagen says allowing the natural creation of salt marshes can bring a wealth of species into new environments.
"We've got huge habitat loss and species loss," she said.
"The UK is already in a poor position when it comes to biodiversity just because it's been managed for so long.
"We've changed our landscape, we've changed the species composition from agriculture from thousands of years in the UK so we already have quite a low level of natural biodiversity."
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