GLASTIR – THE ALL-WALES AGRI-ENVIRONMENT SCHEME
Glastir is a Sustainable Land Management Scheme for Wales, which in 2013, replaced the four existing agri-environment schemes of Tir Gofal, Tir Cynnal, Tir Mynydd and Organic Farming Scheme/Organic Farming Conversion Scheme. Glastir is a 5 year whole farm sustainable land management scheme available to farmers and land managers across Wales.
Glastir objectives
– Manage soils to help conserve our carbon stocks and reduce soil erosion
– Improve water quality and reduce surface run off
– Manage water to help reduce flood risks
– Conserve and enhance wildlife and biodiversity
– Manage and protect landscapes and the historic environment
– Provide new opportunities to improve access and understanding of the countryside
The scheme consists of three elements including:
All Wales Element (AWE)
A whole farm land management scheme which is open to application from all farmers and land managers throughout Wales. It is designed to provide support for the delivery of environmental benefits that meet today’s challenges and priorities. Successful applicants will make a commitment to deliver environmental goods for five years under a legally binding contract.
Under this element, there will be a set of compulsory requirements which will apply to all land entered into the contract. In addition to this, landowners will select further management options in order to attain points. Applicants will need to meet or exceed the points threshold in order to gain entry into the AWE.
Targeted Element (TE)
A part farm scheme intended to deliver significant improvements to the environmental status of a range of habitats, species, soils and water that might also require changes to current agricultural practices. In order to achieve these specific improvements and outcomes, financial support from the Welsh Assembly Government will be targeted at locations where action will lead to the required result.
Common Land Element
Designed to provide support for the delivery of environmental benefits on common land.
Glastir and the Historic Environment
One of the aims of Glastir is to retain features that are deemed to form part of the historical heritage, character and quality of the Welsh landscape. This includes traditional buildings, remnant structures, ancient and historical monuments, and historic parks and gardens. In order to ensure the future protection of these historic features, the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts have been actively involved in the scheme at an early stage.
Each Trust has so far provided the Welsh Assembly Government with a database of GIS polygons, which have been drawn around historical sites deemed to be manageable under the Glastir agri-environment scheme. It is hoped that providing this data will enable the protection of historic sites by the entry-level scheme. So far over 12,600 polygons have been submitted to the Welsh Assembly Government.
These polygons, together with others detailing historic landscape character areas, have also been supplied to the Forestry Commission Wales to form part of their targeting map for the Woodland Creation element of the Glastir scheme.
The Welsh Archaeological Trusts have been consulted on a number of Round 1 AWE applications to Glastir advising landowners about the management options they may have selected in relation to any Historic Environment features that have been mapped on their land, and are being consulted in a similar manner on applications under the Woodland Creation element.
