North Devon Biosphere Reserve

The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) accolade has been awarded on the basis that this is a place that can demonstrate an exceptional diversity and abundance of rare plants and continuous human use from ancient times. There are 400 other Biosphere Reserves worldwide, including the area around Mount Vesuvius in Italy, the Danube Delta in eastern Europe and Ayers Rock in Australia, but North Devon is the first in the UK!

A Biosphere Reserve aims to achieve the following:

• A Conservation Function - to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation.
• A Development Function - to foster economic and human development, which is socially, culturally and ecologically sustainable.
• A Logistic Function - to provide support for research, monitoring, education and information exchange related to local, national and global issues of conservation and development.

The Biosphere Reserve has a core area centred on Braunton Burrows, stretching out into what are called buffer zones and transitional areas, to include Braunton Marshes and Great Field, Northam Burrows, Kipling Tors, Croyde Dunes and the River Taw and River Torridge Estuary. The Biosphere Reserve encompasses the area around the Taw and Torridge Estuary including the settlements of Barnstaple, Bideford, Braunton, Instow, Appledore, Croyde and Westward Ho!By road it is an hour's drive on the A361 from Junction 27 of the M5. If travelling by train the Tarka Line from Exeter St. David's brings you to Barnstaple Station. From here, public transport is available to the coastal and countryside areas.The Tarka Trail, including sections of the South West Coast Path, threads its way through the Biosphere Reserve, enabling you to enjoy it at close quarters by walking or cycling. Cycle hire is available at Barnstaple, Bideford and Braunton.

The rarity and diversity and profusion of the flora and fauna in and around the River Torridge estuary and near the coast, has led to this special place being designated as International Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO - the first of its type in the country! Discover the hummocks of the strange dunescape of Braunton Burrows. The burrows cover over 6km along the shore and some 2km inland, making them one of the largest sand dune systems in the UK. You will pass the Great Field of Braunton Marsh here
too, where you can hear the haunting cries of sandpipers and curlews on the saltings of the Taw and Torridge Estuary, returning you to Barnstaple. A World Biosphere Reserve is an area with high environmental quality and a community that has shown that it wants to live in harmony with that environment and cherish it. The core area of North Devon's Biosphere Reserve is the world class dune system of Braunton Burrows and the Taw/Torridge estuaries. It also includes all the land that drains into the north coast of Devon (the Taw and Torridge river catchments, taking in the Culm Grasslands, moorland, forests and river valleys), and also extends seawards to include Lundy Island and the marine area around our coast.

Unlike traditional "reserves", the Biosphere Reserve designation shows how the people, land and sea are all ecologically connected. Activities high up in the catchment can have a direct impact on the quality of our estuaries and the sea, while industry in the lowlands can affect air quality for all.The area has so much to be proud of that has led to this designation, such as Braunton Burrow owned and managed by the Christie family for over 350 years, Lundy Island, the Culm Grasslands, the North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks and the Taw/Torridge estuaries. The Tarka Trail, the Southwest Coast Path, South West Forest, Heritage Coasts and Estuary Management Project, Local Nature Reserves and other green initiatives such as Tarka Country, Ruby Country, Transend and TAGS provide much to do. A Biosphere Reserve is a new way of looking at the relation ship between conservation and development. Conservation for development - and development for conservation. There are a whole range of services that are provided by our environment that we take for granted. The recreation and tourism industry depend on the natural beauty of the area; agriculture depends on pollination provided by insects, and fisheries depend on clean and rich seas; the filter and pharmaceutical industries came here because of the clean air; our flood defence bill is reduced by the protection provided by saltmarshes and mudflats in the estuary and the water-regulating functions of the moorlands and woodlands high in the catchments. There are many more natural benefits we could list.

The challenge for our Biosphere Reserve is to maintain and enhance these natural benefits, so that future generations can enjoy and benefit from them too. If we can do this as a community, we can learn from each other, and others can come here and learn from our experience.This covers the three functions of a Biosphere Reserve - conservation, development and education. Everyone can do something to make North Devon a better place - as an individual, as a farm business, as a shop owner, as a teacher. It's our place, it's our choice.

See also:

www.northdevonbiosphere.org.uk

Contributed by: Kevin Howard