Farmers and landowners in Wales could be formally enlisted to help fight wildfires under measures announced after this summer's severe outbreaks, Farmers Weekly reports. First minister Rhun ap Iorwerth set out the proposals after a Wales climate change and resilience summit in Merthyr Tydfil on Thursday 22 October, attended by more than 40 representatives of the public and private sectors.
The priorities include a pan-Wales register through which farmers and landowners can volunteer vehicles, equipment and local knowledge to support firefighting. The Welsh government will also commission a rapid review of land management's role in wildfire prevention and a separate review of the Heather and Grass Burning Code. Other measures include strengthening the All-Wales Wildfire Board, better risk monitoring, bringing in international firefighting expertise and looking at ways to ease the UK's shortage of aerial firefighting resources. Mr ap Iorwerth said there was an "absolute determination" to be ready for what is likely to be another difficult spring and summer in 2027.
Ian Rickman, president of the Farmers' Union of Wales, said farmers' local knowledge makes them well placed to help prevent and tackle fires, but called for better information on where fires start, their causes and their severity, pointing to Welsh government figures suggesting nearly three-quarters of incidents were started deliberately. He also warned that reduced upland grazing, after agri-environment schemes and new habitat rules came in, had left more combustible vegetation on the hills.
NFU Cymru president Abi Reader urged stronger collaboration and a strengthened wildfire board, and the National Sheep Association's policy manager Michael Priestley said some farmers feared agri-environment policies were encouraging grazing to be withdrawn, letting woody vegetation build up. Carefully managed grazing, he argued, can keep diverse habitats while supporting biodiversity, carbon storage and water quality.
Dominic Driver, executive director of Natural Resources Wales, said the summer's fires had destroyed habitats, depleted carbon stores and damaged soils, and that building resilience would need closer co-operation between government, emergency services, land managers and communities.
Photo: Jeff Gogarty / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Source: Farmers Weekly
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