Axis II monitoring & evaluation programme.

From 2012 the current agri-environment schemes, Tir Gofal, Tir Cynnal, Organic Farm Scheme and Tir Mynydd will be superseded by a single land management scheme, Glastir. This scheme has been designed to effectively and efficiently meet current and future environmental challenges within an ecosystem goods and services framework. Glastir will fund land management practices which will increase the value of Wales’s natural capital and enhance the flow of associated goods and services to society.

The Welsh Government on behalf of the Welsh Ministers, has let a 2 year contract with the potential to extend for a further 2 years. The monitoring programme is required to satisfy both internal and external evidence requirements, including accounting for and complementing existing Welsh and wider UK monitoring programmes. It must be constructed in a manner which robustly quantifies the relationship between intervention management, changes in natural capital and flows of ecosystem goods and services via a single monitoring framework. It is envisaged that the monitoring framework will consist of a surveillance component (establishing general trends in stock and flows) and a targeted component (which relates specific management to the wider observed trends in stock and flows).

As an indication of the potential scope of the monitoring programme the following should be considered as minimum for investigation of stock and flows:

Soil.

Water.

Habitat.

Species.

Climate change mitigation.

Historic environment.

Landscape.

Social capital.

Access.

Given the wide range of skills required to delivery the monitoring programme (and also to ensure maximum effectiveness and efficiency) the monitoring programme will be let as a single contract (single meaning an integrated approach rather than separate contracts for water, soil, habitats etc). Novel and innovative approaches to delivering this programme will be welcome. The data collected under this monitoring contract will contribute the overall Axis evaluation and be used for future policy development.