National Parks Nature Health Check

75 years on from the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, Campaign for National Parks have carried out an assessment of nature recovery in our National Parks and the results are clear; nature is struggling in many parts of the parks and needs urgent help getting back to full health.

National Parks and the communities that call them home are the custodians of the last truly wild spaces in the UK, but despite the best efforts of many working to protect our natural and cultural heritage, nature is still struggling due to a lack of resources, a lack of data and a lack of significant powers to make the systemic change needed.

Major reforms are needed if nature is to survive and flourish – will you send a message to your representatives demanding action for nature recovery in National Parks?

Let’s get National Park nature back to full health.

Read the full report at     https://www.cnp.org.uk/health-check-report/

The report’s findings for Bannau Brycheiniog:

  • 13% of Bannau Brycheiniog is owned by the National Park Authority, the highest in England and Wales.
  • Bannau Brycheiniog is one of six National Parks with potential for restoration as temperate rainforest.
  • 8% of Bannau Brycheiniog is covered in peat. This equates to 3,378,342 (t) of carbon content.
  • Bannau Brycheiniog increased woodland coverage by 191 hectares between 2015 and 2020, 60% of the total increase in Welsh National parks.
  • The proportion of waterbodies in Bannau Brycheiniog which are in good or above ecological health dropped from 43.4% to 36.8% between 2017 and 2021
  • 13,197 hours of sewage were released into waterbodies in Bannau Brycheiniog in 2022 across 34 EDM incidents.
  • 22% of SSSI sites in Bannau Brycheiniog are in a favourable condition.
  • 79% of at risk red list and 83% of amber list bird species have been recorded in Bannau Brycheiniog since 2000.

If you would like to write to your Member of the Senedd an online toolkit can be found at

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/back-nature-recovery-in-national-parks