Prince William plans to double the size of a tiny fragment of rainforest on his Dartmoor estate, the Duchy of Cornwall has announced.
Wistman’s Wood is one of Britain’s remaining ancient “temperate rainforests”, brought into the public eye after environmental campaigner Guy Shrubsole’s bestselling book on the subject.
Described as “haunting”, and “magical” by visitors, the Devon woodland is just 3 hectares (7.4 acres) , and walkers are periodically banned over fears of damaging the delicate ecosystem. Overgrazing of sheep and cattle in the area has also been an issue.
It is often referred to as one of the south-west’s last remaining examples of temperate rainforest, and came within Prince William’s purview after he inherited the duchy, a large landholding including the greatest privately owned area of Dartmoor national park, from his father, King Charles, when he succeeded to the throne.
The duchy has been criticised for failing to protect the sites of special scientific interest on its Dartmoor estate.
Wistman’s Wood contains very rare Atlantic mosses and lichens, but is a small and isolated remnant, making it vulnerable to risks such as fire, disease and climate change, and increasing the need to carefully improve its resilience.
But the duchy said on Monday it aimed to regenerate and at least double the size of Wistman’s Wood by 2040, including expanding wood-pasture habitat.
The royal estate has been working with Natural England to restore the woodland and will allow it to regenerate naturally by reducing cattle grazing – using a virtual electric fence to protect sensitive areas, and improving footpaths so the public do not stray into the regenerating woodland. The Duchy will also plant some new trees by seed collected from the ancient wood.
Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England, said: “Wistman’s Wood national nature reserve is a magical fragment of ancient temperate rainforest. This exciting plan to allow the wood to expand through regeneration will give it long-term resilience and provide a wealth of benefits for people and nature. Reserves like this one will act as the battery packs powering nature recovery across the country
“Success in restoring nature at scale can only really happen through partnerships and we are delighted to be working with the Duchy of Cornwall and its tenants in developing what is a fine example of farming and nature recovery going forward together hand in hand. The enhancement of this spectacular landscape and its habitats will enable people to connect with a site rich in wildlife and historic interest for long into the future.”
Campaigners have long been calling for the duchy to take better care of the ancient woodland on its estate, and they were pleased to hear this now appears to be happening. One group, Wild Card, delivered a 70,000 signature petition to Prince William asking him to expand temperate rainforest.
Shrubsole, author of The Lost Rainforests of Britain, said: “This is fantastic news – temperate rainforest used to cover 20% of Britain, including large swathes of Dartmoor, but centuries of deforestation means it now covers less than 1% of the country.
“The duchy’s plan to double the size of Wistman’s Wood through natural regeneration is an awe-inspiring example of farmers, landowners and ecologists working together in partnership – and is vital to make this tiny fragment of temperate rainforest more resilient to the impacts of the climate crisis.
“I hope this announcement inspires other farmers and landowners across the west of Britain to follow suit and restore temperate rainforest on their land. There is now huge momentum to bring back Britain’s lost rainforests, and not a moment too soon.”
