Wildlife and Climate Change and IPCC Reports

SWT have been expressing their concern that climate change is going to have a growing effect on wildlife in Somerset. The most important source of data is the IPCC. The build up to the latest reports on Climate Change from the IPCC is difficult to follow but an understanding helps to make sense of it all. Here is a much simplified account.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. It is open to all members of the UN and WMO.

The First IPCC Assessment Report was completed in 1990. The Report played an important role in establishing the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a UN Framework Convention on Climate Change by the UN General Assembly. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992 and entered into force in 1994. It provides the overall policy framework for addressing the climate change issue.
The IPCC has continued to provide scientific, technical and socio-economic advice to the world community, and in particular to the Parties to the UNFCCC through its periodic assessment reports and special reports. Its Second Assessment Report, Climate Change 1995, provided key input to the negotiations, which led to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC in 1997.
The major activity of the IPCC is to prepare in regular intervals comprehensive and up-to-date assessments of policy-relevant scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of human induced climate change, potential impacts of climate change and options for mitigation and adaptation.

We now have the 4th Assessment Report(AR). This is being released throughout 2007 as shown below.

Climate Change 2007:
Working Group III Report "Mitigation of Climate Change"
Bangkok, 4 May 2007

Working Group II Report "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability"
Brussels, 6 April 2007

Working Group I Report "The Physical Science Basis"
Paris 2 Feb 2007

The final part of the Report is to be published at the end of 2007 and will be the
AR4 Synthesis Report ( SYR).

As defined in the IPCC Procedures the SYR will “synthesize and integrate material contained within IPCC Assessment Reports and Special Reports”. Its scope will include material contained in the three Working Group contributions to the AR4, and it would draw on information contained in other IPCC Reports as required. Cross cutting themes will be considered throughout the report. The SYR should be largely self-contained, but guide readers to the underlying material if they wish to look further.

Group visit to Babcary Meadows Reserve

This is a white variant of the Green Winged Orchid.

Another photo shows the Heart of the Levels Group members during the tour.


The yellow flower is Yellow Rattle which is often added to grass meadows to restrict strong grasses and make life easier for wildflowers. We plan to sow seed on our 4 acre private nature reserve this autumn as recommended for best results. It occurs naturally here at Babcary Meadows.
The visit went very well in perfect weather and a group of 13 enjoyed a walk around the 30 acres of unimproved meadows under the guidance of the Reserve Manager. The highlight was to see several varieties of the Green Winged Orchid and a probable sighting of a Marsh Orchid.


This is what the SWT says about this site:

The reserve lies eight mile east of Somerton and is part of an SSSI. It is a
site of 12 ha (30 acres) and is a species rich, unimproved, neutral
hay-meadow situated by the River Cary. Over two hundred species of flora
have been recorded on the reserve, fourteen of which are classified 'notable
species' in Somerset, and six of which are orchids.

This outstanding Site of Special Scientific Interest is a traditional
lowland hay meadow, a type of habitat that has declined dramatically since
the Second World War. Agricultural intensification, (increased ploughing,
use of fertilisers, drainage and silage cropping) has reduced it by 97 per
cent. The remainder is still being whittled down year by year, making this
site evermore important on a local, national and international scale. (The
habitat present on this site is not found outside Britain and northern
France.)

Langport International Walking Festival

Details of the festival can be found here:


Please support your Chairman as he attempts 30k ( 18 miles) over the two days to raise funds for our Group. Email or telephone to offer your support.

Here is some of the publicity information from LADT.

Langport International Walking Festival
June 9th & 10th 2007
Come and join us! Get physical and enjoy the Somerset countryside and its delights!

This will be the second Langport International Walking Festival. The inaugural Festival in 2006 was a great success with walkers coming from far and wide to take part. Ages ranged from 6 year olds to those well over 60!
The walks are for pleasure but if you want to raise funds for a charity of your choice you are quite welcome to do so.
The Festival is an opportunity to see the beautiful countryside around Langport while giving yourself a challenge. The walks will be 5k, 10k, 20k and 42k and all will be circular starting and finishing at Langport's Cocklemoor car park . The walks will encompass the Somerset levels and will as far as possible be in the countryside and not on public roads. They will also take in some of the many pubs, small attractions and local cottage industries in the area. Snacks and light refreshments will be provided along the routes. Each person who completes the route of their choice will receive a Certificate.
Car parking is free and will be professionally marshalled. Hot showers will be available on site.
Entertainment

On the evening of Friday 8th June there will be dance entertainment from the Royal Marines Band on Cocklemoor. If you haven't seen this band on TV or at an event, you have really missed something! See here for more information and pictures of this amazing band. Prior booking is required for this event, tickets are £7.50 each. Contact the LADT offices (details below) for tickets.
On Saturday 9th June entertainment will be provided by the Agricultural Orchestra also on Cocklemoor. Tickets for this are £2.50 each, available from the LADT office or on the day.

Wildflower identification

Now that the hedgerows and meadows are growing fast its useful to have a means of identification and there are some good books. However the Wildflower Society has a very good photo gallery showing most of the common UK plants and it can be seen here.
Shown above are some of the flowers which we can see locally.
Our group has organised three visits to local reserves which will all feature spring and early saummer wildflowers. Hopefully we will have some phtos to post on the blog.

Another visit to RHS Rosemoor

Whilst in the area last weekend we made another brief visit to RHS Rosemoor, at Great Torrington , North Devon. In my earlier blog on 27th October 2006 I talked about fungi and lichens I had seen there. Now in the spring time its very early in the growing season and the rose displays are all only a future dream. However perhaps because the vegetation was fairly sparse I noticed the insect shown in these photographs.

I'm convinced I haven't seen them before but if so it is just a lack of looking because they are apparently quite common. The are the Large bee-fly, Bombylius major as I have now discovered via the Internet. These photos are credited to: Keith Edkins: Here is a link to the web site.
Keith Edkins">


Just to reinforce my lack of observation as soon as I returned home and walked round our garden I immediately saw another specimen for the first time. They are fascinating creatures and like the humming bird hawk moth seen last summer amazing in their flight control for feeding.

A week in the life of a Somerset wildlife group

In case you were wondering what we do in our group here are some diary entries for this fairly busy week.

Monday 2nd April.

There were several matters hanging around from last week.
This included arranging to collect from Trust HQ a new first aid pack for Group use at meetings and on visits to reserves. We need more people qualified to provide First Aid cover.
There was a first meeting of a brand new local group based around Frome last week and it would show our support if I sent an email to congratulate them on getting the group started.
Having agreed to call a committee meeting at short notice last week there were some car sharing arrangements to put in place by telephone and this was successfully completed ready for tomorrow evening.
Last week I raised several queries after using the web site run by our parent organisation, the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, I received an acknowledgement that the matter would be followed up soon. A problem had arisen in my registering for membership of its Wildnet system designed to give communication between staff and volunteers across all the county trusts organisation. It appears that this new system which allowed me to register and gain access to a forum mainly intended for staff use should not have been so open. The web master has now locked my registration account! Whilst waiting for a clarification of my application I notice the web site and registration process seems to have been modified and made more secure. Perhaps I did them a favour by showing how easy it was to get entry to the network! I await a further response.
Apart from work for the Trust there is work to be done on our 4 acre private nature reserve field in the coming week to implement our plans to introduce additional wild flower species. All are native English meadow plants some of which are already present but not wide spread. Follow up phone calls had to be made to confirm participation of our volunteer work party. Although private we are members of the SWT Private Nature Reserve Network.

Tuesday 3rd April.
Following on from Mondays comment, as secretary to the Syndicate which owns the 4 acre field I had welcomed a chance to meet a new member. This proved a most interesting chat to talk about how we set up our Syndicate and a summary or our progress so far and also to hear a bit more about the fields history from someone who had lived in the area for a lot longer than me.
I am a little concerned about the need to progress arrangements for a SW Trust meeting of all local area group chairs which happens every 4 months or so and our group is responsible for the organisation of the next one in June. A local village hall has been booked but the agenda needs to be agreed. A draft needs to be circulated for comment and any additional items to be discussed need to be identified.
In the evening we got together for our Group committee meeting with the main business the summer programme of events. The meeting went well and all seem happy with the arrangements with various jobs spread around the committee including refreshments for our Group meeting. Our Diary blog gives details.

Wednesday 4th April
If you have read my post dated 22.03.07 you will know that I had researched the way local trusts provide a wildlife information service for plant or animal identification. I sent a copy of my brief report to the SW Trusts CEO as a courtesy and for his information. Today I received a brief note saying that my comments had been referred to a group carrying out a review of the Trusts web site. I hope they take my somewhat critical comments as constructive observations.
For our private reserve, morning and afternoon sessions on the field, with help from several members of our syndicate, resulted in two small areas being prepared for young wild flower plants grown from seed and some bought in from a specialist nursery. It was necessary to remove a small plug of turf to insert each plant. Some gravel or sharp sand was placed around each one to try to keep slugs at bay. Their survival is not certain and only time will tell.
In between planting sessions two phone call are worth reporting. Firstly a call from the local office of the Environment Agency to reply to my recent request for information on the Parrett Catchment Project. The main news was that the PCP was being wound up at a meeting on 27th April and replaced by a new form of partnership. The aim will continue I assume to attempt to balance the demands of farmers making a living with conservation needs and other development type issues.A contact name in the Somerset County Council was given which I must follow up. Our Group is centred around the levels and moors and is involved indirectly.
The other call resulted in getting agreement on holding a garden party locally with all members, friends and the public invited. A chance to meet members not yet seen at our meetings we hope.Detailed arrangements to be sorted out later. An email has been sent to our local Parish newspaper giving date and time

Thursday 5th April.
Today's activities started by preparing an email to all our local Trust members who are on email which numbers around 80 at present with a further 450 members not contactable this way! It seemed a good time to remind people about the dates of our Group events and visits to local reserves. The next visit is at the invitation of the RSPB with a guided tour of their two nature reserves in Somerset. One has only just opened to the public. One more member has called to ask to join the party which is encouraging. I will need to contact the dozen or so members who have told me they are coming along to confirm arrangements.
Out on our private field planting continued to add a further area of new wild flowers. We are keeping a record of what has been planted so that progress can be monitored. It is noticeable now in early April that plants and grasses are starting to grow in earnest. A rota of Syndicate members has been agreed to keep our new very small plants watered at least for the next few weeks. The weather has become quite warm with plenty of sunshine and a fair drying wind making watering necessary.


Friday 6th April.
Alongside our private 4 acre field is a similar area of grassland which our local council is negotiating to acquire. News from this Thursdays Council meeting is that they have deferred a final decision on the transfer of ownership. They have received a further letter from the owners solicitor raising yet more legal queries still to be resolved.The outcome of this matter will have an impact on our own field and is therefor of considerable concern to our Syndicate.
Further afield some Trust members have today reported disturbing activity by a farmer on the Westmoor Drove near Hambridge. They are asking for information and guidance on what can we do to retrained damaging actions of this kind by farmers? Not having a ready answer to such queries I can only take details to be followed up next week after the Easter break. There are a number of bodies that might be able to confirm the legality of farmers work where it effects the pathways etc across the moors and levels. I have promised to check and call back in a few days.

Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th April.
Two days of beautiful clear blue skies, warm sunshine and almost clear of wildlife issues apart from finding an hour or so to type up this report and time to pay attention to our own garden which gets neglected. Just one other important event to mention. The second stage of the UN IPCC report on Climate Change has just been issued and today's papers are giving it attention but a more measured approach this time. The heat is on Governments now in more ways than one!! This blog gives links to both the UK Met Office and the IPCC for detailed information.

(minor revisions 8th April)

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this Somerset

View along the River Parrett towards Langport


View from Aller Woods across Aller Moor towards West Sedge Moor

Apologies to William Shakespeare but he must have had Somerset in mind when he wrote his play Richard II in 1595.
Now, 18 months after starting our new group and having chosen a name which links us to the Somerset Levels it seems right to stop and look in a bit more detail at the area where we live and how well "we" are managing it for wildlife.

A vast amount of literature exists concerning the Somerset Levels and Moors and there are many government and non government organisations who have an interest in the area. Wildlife sits in the middle of interests ranging from jobs and commerce to housing,transport, sport and pastimes.The area is large and well described by Michael Stirling in an excellent compilation of historical research reviews,comments and illustrations. He introduces his work as follows:

"Looking South from the jagged rampart of the Mendip Hills, some 200 square miles of Somerset are laid before you: gentle expanses of field and water; a lacework of rivers and marshes. Between your eyrie and the distant horizon of the Quantock Hills,this great plain is broken in half by an East-West ridge of wooded meadows and little villages that make up the Polden Hills.
The Northern areas make up the Vale of Avalon; the Southern half, up to the gates of Langport and Taunton are known as Sedgemoor, usually referred to by the locals as The Levels."

One of the many typical documents produced in recent years and available via the web is titled, "The Parrett Catchment. Water Management Strategy Action Plan", Spring 2002 in which Humphrey Temperley, Chairman of the Parrett Catchment Project claims,

" The actions within ( the Plan ) are not just another list of studies instead of work on the ground, they are practical steps forward to dealing with the Parrett Catchment's problems of flooding,conservation interests, communities and the threat of climate change."

The fact that so many reports exist raises the question of who, if anyone, has an overall controlling interest. After some time on the web and reading some of the documents available it seems that the top of the chain is Somerset County Council (SCC).
Their Environment Dept currently lists the Parrett Catchment Project and describes how "local agencies and people came together in 2000 to form the Parrett Catchment Project (PCP), whose aim it is to take action to address the issue of flooding now, rather than storing up problems for the future."

SCC also is responsible through its Countryside Services Dept for two other groups. "LAMP"(Levels and Moors Partnership) and "The Parrett Trail".

A consultancy report dated Sept, 2005, by "Land Use Consultants", identified a number of problems arising from overlapping interests and powers and recommended that a Standing Conference of some 30 organisations should be set up. This does not seem to have happened so responsibility for coordination of the many and presumably sometimes conflicting interests must stay with SCC.

Concerns of other organisations can be illustrated by these brief extracts from their web sites.


The National Trust. A current news item.


Just this week the National Trust has published a report in which Director-General Fiona Reynolds has called on the Government to make the conservation of peat moorlands a climate change priority.

We still have an active peat extraction industry in Somerset.

The story can be read on their web site at:
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-global/w-news/w-news_peat_crisis.htm

"Vital carbon stores at risk

Urgent Government action needed to defuse Britain’s hidden climate change timebomb.
• Peat and carbon
• The crisis
• Taking action
• Government action
National Trust Director-General Fiona Reynolds has called on the Government to make the conservation of peat moorlands a climate change priority. At the same time, she announced a call to action for thousands of volunteers to help save the precious peat resources of the Peak District.

At a briefing outlining the growing threat to the UK’s peatlands, Fiona Reynolds commented:
'The simple message is that we need to give greater priority to conserving our peatlands or risk losing the nation’s largest carbon store'."


The RSPB is very much involved on the Levels as can be seen from their web site at:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/england/southwest/conservation/somerset_moors_levels.asp

RSPB Somerset Levels and Moors Project.

The Somerset Levels and Moors is the largest extensive area of lowland wet grassland remaining in Britain and supports huge flocks of waterfowl in the winter, including internationally important numbers of Bewick's swans, golden plovers, teals and lapwings.
It is also one of the most important breeding areas for lapwings, curlews, redshanks and snipe - wading birds that all require wet grassland. In addition there are important botanical communities and a rich invertebrate fauna. For these reasons much of the area is designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA), Ramsar site and Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA).

The RSPB's Somerset Levels and Moors project complements the work of their two Somerset reserves by developing conservation activities in the wider area, with a dedicated project officer, James Millett. The project focuses on the continued conservation of breeding and wintering birds through advocacy, education, research and monitoring. The project has developed productive working relationships with a wide range of government agencies, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders."

And the last word should go to the Somerset Wildlife Trust in their appeal made last September concerning a proposal for a tidal exclusion sluice across the River Parrett which could be disastrous for Somerset’s wildlife and environment.

"We are urgently seeking your help in the fight to stop the sluice from becoming a reality by making your views known to the Environment Agency by the Friday 15 September. There is less than a week to make our voices heard.

What’s the issue?

There is growing body of political and officer support for the idea of a sluice on the River Parrett below Bridgwater in the misguided belief that shutting out the tide is the best way to tackle flood risk and also to revitalise Somerset’s waterways.

There is no formal environmental assessment but it is already clear that the sluice would pose a major threat to wildlife. By blocking the natural daily ebb and flow of the tides it would cause major environmental impacts and alter habitats along the whole course of the river.

Migratory fish, other specialised plants and animals and even the teaming flocks of waders and wildfowl that rely on the mudflats of the Parrett Estuary and even Bridgwater Bay could all be badly affected.

In reality there is expert evidence which suggests that there is no need for a barrier of any sort to prevent tidal flooding for the next 30 years. Even then it is a tidal surge barrier - to exclude only extreme tides - which would be likely to be needed."

These are only a few of the concerns being voiced in the interest of protecting wildlife for the future. They demonstrate that there are a great many issues which can have a major impact on wildlife on our doorstep and about which, I for one know, little about.

Wildlife Information Services

The Somerset Wildlife Trust aims to set up a Wildlife Information Service.

Whilst waiting to find out how they intend to do so, it may be worth looking around at other Trusts to see what is happening else where and what is available already for Somerset Members.

A visit to five other Wildlife Trust sites showed significant differences in how this subject is handled.

The National Wildlife Trust Organisation uses what I regard as a somewhat cluttered, old fashioned home page which is not very attractive to view and contains a lot of references but no form of information help line. There is the usual contact us facility which I have used in the past and received an answer.You can see their web site by clicking here.


The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust home page is brighter but still a bit cluttered. There is an FAQ feature under the heading of “The Questions you ask us” which covers a lot of typical subjects. There is also a heading, “Use our Expertise”, which looks promising. There is a contact us facility but no offer of a telephone help line. Here is their web site.


The Dorset Wildlife Trust has a brighter home page and uses interesting good photos to lead you to main pages which are encouraging. There is no mention of a telephone help line or information service. Here is their web site.


The Devon Wildlife Trust uses the same or similar format to the National site and as noted above is in my view a bit dull and uninviting. If you have a question you need to go to “Other Services” then find a sub heading saying “Wildlife Advice Service” and this gives you an FAQ which covers many topics. There is also a link to “Devon Wildlife Consultants” which carries out paid work on ecological surveys etc. However there is no telephone help line and only the usual contact us feature. Here is a link to their web site.


The Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust
To get a view from further a field I looked at this Trust and found a refreshingly bright and inviting home page. Under some attractive photos are link buttons which take you first to an “Advice” page and then to “Wildlife Information” where a friendly welcome is given with the words:

“We can help you to identify plants and animals, find out how to garden for wildlife or answer your general questions about local wildlife and conservation.”
Here is a link to their web page

Of all these Trusts the BBOWT site is my preferred model.


Finally back at the Somerset Wildlife Trust. The home page is along the lines of the National web site as is the Devon site. It has some good feature such as the map showing all the reserves, the volunteering and education pages are well thought out although putting those areas in a separate box seems a bit off putting. It certainly isn’t as easy as just having a button at the top of the home page. However it suffers as do most of the sites looked at by packing too much onto a page and from the point of view of this report, there is little to say welcome in a friendly way and only the formal contact us box. No telephone help line for questions about wildlife. Not even an FAQ. An example of too much information is given by the Contact Us page. Here apart from the main switchboard number your eye is drawn to Donations, News, Events and also a small box for Staff which to my mind deserves a much more prominent display. Here is their web site.

In conclusion it is clear to me that the SWT is correct to have an intention to establish a Wildlife Information Service. There are other Trusts who already have such a service although not all. Out of 6 looked at, only one, BBOWLT, was considered good in achieving this form of service for its members. There is another test I should apply and that is to actually use the links on each web site to see how it performs. That will have to be another post in a week or so.

The Herald

Here are some details for the moth shown in my previous post.
The moth was seen at rest inside the buildings on a visit to Somerton Mill.





2469 The Herald Scoliopteryx libatrix
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Wingspan 40-45 mm.

http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=205. Web site for identification of moth.

Quite a spectacular species, this colourful moth overwinters as an adult, and as a result, can be one of the last species to be seen in one year, and one of the first in the next. It is also sometimes found hibernating inside barns and outbuildings.

The adults are attracted to both light and sugar, and the species is fairly common and well distributed over much of Britain, though it is less common in Scotland.

The larvae feed on willow (Salix) and poplar (Populus).

Bullrushes in the stream feeding the mill.



View of the Somerton Mill from across the stream and gardens.

Spring review

Moth resting inside the water mill building.

Primroses at the Somerton water mill.


Spring time at the old water mill at Somerton.

Our group blog needs a spring review which can look at format and content. Its relatively easy to cherry pick news items from the many sources available which includes information from the SWT,newspapers such as the Times, Guardian, Independent, web site run by NGO's, blogs such as those linked on this blog and the BBC.
As editor I can pick and choose items that catch my interest and they may be directly wildlife or by association like climate change. I have been trying to include my own photographs and others by agreement and I think they add a lot to the interest. My camera had to be sent away for repairs which has stopped my photographic exploits but all is well again so one or two more will be added. The photo's shown above were taken during a visit to a 17century water mill near Somerton last week.
Most people who have commented directly or indirectly have said they find the blog of interests but it seems difficult to widen the audience locally which is a prime purpose. However it can also claim to be an important record over time of our group development as well as a means of communication.
Looking at similar forms of e communications it may be a better idea to see this blog as a diary using the model of Mark Mardell's European Diary which he publishes each week on a Thursday. It has the benefit of allowing a week to collect information and data and photographs and time to compose a more thoughtful report. It would be a high standard to aim for for so much the better. Perhaps I should set myself a date like March 22nd for my next post!