A scheme to reverse declines in wildlife-rich dune habitats by getting the sands shifting again has been given a £4m funding boost.
Sand dunes are home to rare plants and animals, with 70 species listed as conservation priorities including the natterjack toad, sand lizard, fen orchid, purple milkvetch and dune gentian.
The “dynamic dunescapes” project, backed by funding from the National Lottery, marks a move away from a decades-old approach to managing sand dunes, which has seen them kept where they are with fencing and vegetation.
These important habitats have declined by a third since 1900 in the UK – and in Wales the situation is particularly acute with dune landscapes down by almost two-thirds. Conservationists say dunes are naturally mobile and need to be moving to be effective habitats.
But previous management with fencing restricted public access and allowed invasive species of plants to become established, which prevented the dunes from moving.
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Endemic to the far east of Russia, the Amur Leopard has a population of around 84 and is critically endangered. Here follows every species that the WWF lists as critically endangered.
Getty
2/17 Yangtze Finless Porpoise
Endemic to China’s Yangtze River, the Yangtze finless porpoise has an estimated population of 1000-1800
Kenichi Nobusue
3/17 South China Tiger
When discovered in the 1950s, the South China tiger population was estimated to be 4000, by 1996 it was estimated to be only 30-80. Scientists consider the tiger to be “functionally extinct” as one has not been sighted for over 25 years
4/17 Sumatran Orangutan
The Sumatran orangutan was once found across the island of Sumatra and even further south on Java. Today it is found only in the island’s north and its population stands at 14,613
Getty
5/17 Western Lowland Gorilla
Though it is the most populous of all gorilla subspecies, the western lowland gorilla is still critically endangered and its population has declined by 60% in the last quarter century
Getty
6/17 Sumatran Rhinoceros
The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest of the surviving rhinoceros species. Only 80 are known to be living today. The last male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia died on 28 May 2019
Willem V Strien
7/17 Sumatran Tiger
There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left today. They are severely threatened by deforestation and poaching
Getty
8/17 Eastern Lowland Gorilla
Half of the rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo in which these gorillas live has been destroyed the past 50 years. There were 17,000 Eastern Lowland gorillas in the 1990s but scientists estimate their population has declined by over 50% since then
Getty
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The world’s rarest marine animal has a population of only 30. They were discovered in 1958 and are endemic to Mexico’s Gulf of California
Paula Olson / NOAA
10/17 Javan Rhino
The most threatened of all rhino species, there are only an estimated 58-68 Javan rhino left
Reuters
11/17 Saola
The saola was first sighted in 1992, being the first large mammal to be discovered in over 50 years. Scientists have only sighted saola in the wild four times and it is considered critically endangered
12/17 Sumatran Elephant
The Sumatran elephant population now stands at only 2400-2800
Getty
13/17 Malayan Tiger
The Malayan Tiger population now stands at only 250-300
Getty
14/17 Hawksbill Turtle
The population of the Hawksbill Turtle has declined by more than 80% in the last century. They are threatened by black market poachers who kill them for their shell
Getty
15/17 Black Rhino
The population of the black rhino dropped by 98% in the years 1960-1995 due to poaching, it stands today at around 5000
Getty
16/17 Cross River Gorilla
The population of the Cross River gorilla has been damaged by deforestation and poaching, it now stands at 200-300
Julie Langford
17/17 Bornean Orangutan
The population of the Bornean orangutan has been reduced by over 50% in the past 60 years, now standing at around 104,700. Their habitat has been reduced by at least 50% in the 21st century
Getty
This has turned landscapes which form a backdrop to many British beaches into sterile grassy hillocks which do not provide the habitat rare species need.
Using the funding, government conservation agency Natural England has teamed up with the National Trust, Plantlife, The Wildlife Trusts and Natural Resources Wales to create more dynamic sand dune landscapes.
The project will conserve almost 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of sand dunes – some 35 per cent of the total for England and Wales – and improve access for the public.
Conservation measures will include natural rabbit grazing, creating dune slacks or depressions that can be flooded, and removing invasive species.
The four-year scheme will also involve members of the public in monitoring wildlife and how the dunes are changing and train individuals and organisations in managing and researching the habitat.
Drew Bennellick, at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “In recent decades the approach has been to keep dunes where they are by using fencing and vegetation.
“We now know that this is bad news for some of the rare species that make their homes among our dunes and they need to be able to naturally move – to be dynamic dunescapes.
“It’s not easy to get the balance right – we need dunes to move but we don’t want them to end up in people’s gardens or taking over the beach-side car park.
“Thanks to this National Lottery funding and the expertise of the partnership organisations, this project can begin to find ways of addressing these pressing issues.”
Nicola Hutchinson, from wildlife charity Plantlife, said: “This project will radically revitalise our ailing dunes and the wealth of wildflowers they harbour.
“Re-injecting real dynamism into dunes will revitalise wild plants which may appear rooted to the spot but are always on the move and benefit from shifting sands.”
The project will concentrate on improving the condition of nine dune landscapes at: Anglesey and Gwynedd; Braunton Burrows, North Devon Coast: Carmarthenshire; Cumbrian Coast; Lincolnshire Sand Hills; North Cornwall Coast; Sefton Coast; Studland Dunes, Dorset; Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot.
Additional reporting by PA
