The current biosphere reserve consists of Dyfi SSSI (including Dyfi estuary, Ynyslas dunes and Cors Fochno estuarine mire), together with Ynys-hir RSPB reserve and parts of the reclaimed or modified estuarine marshes (some of which are within Dyfi SSSI). Considerable areas of the current SSSI lie outside the biosphere reserve. The Dyfi estuary and Cors Fochno comprise a Ramsar site (with bondary revision in progress to include the entire SSSI). Cord Fopchno is a cSAC and the estuary is part of the Penllyn a’r Sarnau marine cSAC.

Close to the site (and within, or partly within the Dyfi catchment) is a range of SSSIs, including Cae Ty-Hen, Cwm Llyyfnant,Coed Maes-Mawr, Coed Esgairneiriau a Cheunant Caecenau, Coed Cwm Cletwr, Gwaun Troed-Rhiw Seiri a Llyn Mynydd-Gorddu, Pencarreg-Gopa a Moel Hyrddod, and Pumlumon. Parts of the estuarine system are subject to an Environment Agency Water Level Management Plan. Tir Cymen has been available on the north side of the Dyfi, and a number of farms participate. In addition there are several nature reserves owned by the wildlife trusts or local authorities in the wider area.

The estuarine area, consisting of the current biosphere reserve and adjacent low-lying land (up to 5 m contour), is the subject of the Dyfi Strategy Group. This partnership, including Countryside Council for Wales, the Environment Agency, Montgomery Wildlife Trust, and the RSPB, is developing a framework for wetland rehabilitation, and is awaiting the outcome of a lottery fund bid which will support work including land purchase and restoration around Dyfi/Cors Fochno.

The estuarine marshes and surrounding land have traditionally been used by farmers to graze horses, cattle and sheep, and recent efforts have been directed at maintaining the traditional Welsh Black breed. Grazing of the saltmarshes is encouraged to maintain suitable conditions for wintering wildfowl. CCW has recently introduced a small herd of Welsh Mountain Ponies to the NNR to assist rehabilitation of mire-wet grassland habitats.

The dune area has open access and is the focus of considerable recreational use by both locals and tourists, with c. 200,000 people visiting the Ynyslas beach and dunes every year. There is a high degree of beach-related recreation in the summer months, including a range of watercraft-based activities. A number of large caravan parks exist, including developments close to the NNR. Aberdyfi, on the north side of the estuary, attracts many summer visitors, with associated water-based activities, and is the focus of a current proposal for the development of harbour facilities. There are golf courses adjacent to the Ynsyslas dunes at Borth and on Aberdyfi dunes, and coastal management issues are common to both sides of the estuary.

The NNR is visited by 7-8,000 students every year, including considerable local use by the Aberystwyth University Department of Biology, and the Welsh Institute of Rural Studies. CCW operates a schools liaison and booking service, with the main school users being at secondary level. There is a long history of research and monitoring in the area, including vegetation and hydrological analysis, ornithological and tourism impacts research, and invertebrate monitoring. CCW has a wide range of monitoring projects in place, including eight on invertebrates. A field studies centre is based at Borth Youth Hostel, close to the Dyfi NNR. A variety of talks and workshops are run by the CCW, for both associated professionals/specialists and interested local people and visitors.

Because of the habitat importance of the area, there is a high degree of interest from bird watchers and naturalists. There are well-developed facilities at the Ynys-hir RSPB reserve, and a permit system is operated by CCW for visits to the Cors Fochno raised bog. There is considerable use of the estuary by wildfowlers, operating under a permit based, zoned wildfowling scheme. CCW cooperates with local farmers in fox control on and around Cors Fochno.

The estuary and river further inland have long-established public and private fishing rights. The estuary has historically been used by locals for cockle fishing, and in recent years has attracted fisherfolk from outside the area, due to heavy exploitation of larger stocks elsewhere. Commercial exploitation pressures are requiring frequent lengthy closure orders to allow recovery of Dyfi cockle stocks.

Further afield in the Dyfi catchment there is considerable commercial coniferous forestry, under control of the Forestry Commission.

The site is representative of western saltmarsh and estuarine systems, and the estuary forms one of the most important wildfowl and shorebird centres in Wales. Spartina, introduced in the 1917 for reclamation purposes, has colonised large areas, but now appears to be undergoing natural regression. Cors Fochno has the largest expanse of primary raised mire in the lowlands of Britain, and contains a high number of invertebrate species, including some of national and international importance. Cors Fochno is well protected in comparison to some other parts of the reserve; e.g., the unsustainable cockle exploitation in the estuary. The heavy recreational use of the Ynyslas dunes has led to an intensive and long-standing visitor management scheme incorporating interpretive displays and programmes, wardening, boardwalks and vehicle controls. A full management plan for the NNR was written in 1989, and summary update plans were completed for Cors Fochno and for Dyfi estuary and Ynyslas dunes in 1997. Sub-plans for the other parts of the SSSI are in preparation, together with an overview plan for the whole SSSI. A management scheme is also being produced for the Pen Llyn a’r Sarnau marine SAC, through consultation between the large number of involved organisations, including CCW, Environment Agency Wales, county councils, water authorities, Snowdonia National Park Authority, and the local Sea Fisheries Committee.

Drainage reclamation works at Dyfi/Cors Fochno began in 1820, and the last major phase was from 1945 to 1970. These have produced major change over the once extensive area of raised mire, with transitions to a range of tidal and freshwater marshes, reducing the wetland expanse by two-thirds, obliterating the natural habitat transitions, and leaving the remaining mire with damaged margins. CCW is currently producing a ‘vision’ statement which describes the potential for restoration of a range of key habitats within a functional wetland ecosystem. Its implementation, together with that of the Environment Agency’s Water Level Management Plan, will require widespread local support and favourable management of the regional drainage system.

Upstream along the Dyfi Valley are areas of native oak woodland. However, in spite of efforts to conserve these, many woods are still grazed, preventing the development of a natural understory. Some efforts are being made to return areas previously planted with conifers to native broadleaved woodland at both small and large scales (the latter through Forest Enterprise).

There is considerable interest amongst the local community in natural history and environmentally related issues – although the interest is, perhaps, strongest within elements of the ‘incoming’ population, who have moved to the area for its natural attributes. There is, apparently, well-established membership of organisations such as the RSPB, and local bat, raptor, barn owl and dormouse groups. Volunteer wardens deal with a variety of issues: e.g., four summer wardens assist with CCW schools liaison, and around 14 volunteers warden the wildfowling scheme. Consultation bodies include the Wildfowling Panel, and, in the wider area, the Forest Enterprise Environment Panel. The Cardigan Bay Forum and ‘Friends of Cardigan Bay’ interest groups are concerned with environmental issues in the area. Specific projects carried out by interested individuals also exist, for example private purchase of land for reforestation, and small-scale willow coppicing.

Tir Cymen support has been taken up by a number of farms on the north side of the estuary, for example to improve habitat on farmland for lapwing breeding. There has also been some local involvement in the Habitat, Hedgerow and Woodland Grant schemes. It is hoped that if the ‘whole farm’ approach of the proposed Tir Gofal agri-environment scheme comes into existence, this will enable farmers throughout the area to contribute more effectively to objectives in line with those of the biosphere reserve.

Ceredigion County Council has produced a consultation draft Coast and Countryside Strategy which refers to biodiversity action planning in general, and states the production of Local BAPs as an objective. However, none has yet been produced.

The most significant example of local involvement in sustainable development in the area was the establishment in January 1997 of the Eco-Valley Partnership (Ecodyfi), covering the Dyfi catchment area, with objectives that stress the sustainable use of natural resources and community-based economies. Ecodyfi brings together over 20 representatives from business and the public sector, including local county councils, Snowdonia National Park Authority, farmers’ unions, CPRW, and the Development Board for Wales. Ecodyfi builds on the history of ecological initiatives in the Dyfi Valley, such as the Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth, Parc Eco Dyfi, windfarm development, and organic farming projects aims to provide advice and grant aid to encourage and support sustainable initiatives. A current example of Ecodyfi’s work is a three-year community renewable energy project, including the development of small-scale hydro, solar power, and biofuel initiatives.

Currently, the biosphere reserve includes most of Dyfi SSSI, including Dyfi/Cors Fochno NNR and Ynys-hir RSPB reserve. In practice, CCW informally defines the biosphere reserve by the five metre contour around the estuarine system (i.e., the area considered by the Dyfi Strategy Group). Within this area, appropriate zoning has not been formally revised from the original site map, but for practical purposes the primary raised mire expanse is viewed as core zone, and the rest of the NNR, the RSPB and Wildlife Trust reserves are largely managed in line with buffer zone requirements. Thus, Cors Fochno could be viewed as the current core zone, being subject to the most protection, under the permit-based access arrangement.

If a biosphere reserve is to be continued in this area, an appropriate zonation could be as follows. Cors Fochno would remain as a core area, with the remainder of the Dyfi SSSI forming the buffer zone. Further core areas could include part of the Dyfi estuary and one or more of the other SSSIs situated in the Dyfi Valley, depending on land use. Further buffer zones could also be formed by SSSI/managed areas, for example Llanbrynmair Moor, where a bid has been made for funding to manage a return to wetland from forestry. Consideration should be given to extending the transition zone to include the wider Dyfi catchment, for a number of reasons:

• the catchment forms a natural, distinct ecological unit;
• this area encompasses both the designations associated with the current biosphere reserve and a range of SSSIs, and 2^nd tier reserves; as well as a considerable non-urban population within which there is much valuable support both specifically for the designation of a broader biosphere reserve and generally for activities which are consonant with the biosphere reserve concept (e.g., conservation and sustainable resource use);
• Ecodyfi is a significant partnership, with the potential to drive initiatives throughout the Valley in sympathy with (or, ultimately, explicitly to satisfy) MAB programme objectives. The partnership, with representation from a small number of additional organisations including CCW and Forest Enterprise, could form the basis of the overarching management body which would be required for development of the biosphere reserve.

Such a concept would fulfil the requirements of the Statutory Framework for a transition area and ‘designated authority or mechanism’. However, the zonation of the restructured reserve would have to be agreed on, and ‘management policy or plan’ prepared and implemented, with adequate funding and full involvement of other stakeholders such as farmers, wildfowlers, local interest groups, educational establishments, and recreational groups.