Protecting and Restoring the South West’s Temperate Rainforests
Bull & Wolf
Image: Bull & Wolf
The South West Rainforest Alliance (SWRA) is a voluntary partnership of organisations and individuals with a shared interest in the protection, restoration and expansion of South West England’s temperate rainforest.
Our Vision
The vision of the SWRA is to protect and restore the region’s existing temperate rainforests, and to buffer and expand them by creating new woodlands within the rainforest landscape with the aim of tripling the area of temperate rainforest by 2050.
Through reconnecting fragmented habitats, we aim to create a thriving rainforest landscape where the plants, lichens, liverworts, mosses, fungi, invertebrates, birds and mammals that make these forests so special can flourish for generations to come.
The SWRA also seeks to inspire and empower people to connect with these unique habitats - to enjoy, understand, and value them, and to take meaningful action to help protect, restore, and strengthen the resilience of South West rainforests.
We work across Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset, and are part of a wider movement across the UK, working closely with our sister alliances in Scotland and Wales.
Taking action to safeguard our rainforests
Ben Lee/WTML
The South West has both a rare opportunity and responsibility to protect and restore one of the world’s rarest habitats. South West temperate rainforests are highly fragmented and fragile, but it is not too late to act. Building on the findings of the first assessment of the South West rainforests, we have identified the following priorities to safeguard the future of our temperate rainforest landscape:
Communication
Raise awareness of the value and fragility of the South West's rainforests, highlighting their importance for biodiversity, climate, and people.
Land Management
Provide training and workshops for land owners and managers, while developing best-practice guidelines for temperate rainforest management.
Priority Locations & Projects
Refine mapping of priority restoration and expansion areas and gain consensus on spatial priorities. Support the development and delivery of landscape-scale projects within these areas.
Policy
Advocate for rainforest priorities to be included in Local Nature Recovery Strategies, and provide mapping and evidence to guide policies that will ensure the protection, restoration and expansion of temperate rainforests.
Surveying, Monitoring and Research
Establish consistent methods to track the condition of rainforest sites, species populations, and restoration outcomes. Fill critical knowledge gaps to support the protection, restoration and expansion of rainforest landscapes, while supporting sustainable livelihoods.
Collaboration
Continue to bring together organisations, scientists, landowners, and communities to co-create solutions, share skills, and strengthen the knowledge and capacity needed to manage our rainforest landscapes effectively.
Our Members
Ben Lee/WTML
Established in 2023 from a shared concern across the environmental sector, the current membership of over 20 organisations and individuals includes:
- British Lichen Society
- Cornwall Council (including Forest for Cornwall)
- Cornwall Wildlife Trust
- Dartmoor National Park Authority
- Devon Biodiversity Records Centre
- Devon County Council
- Devon Wildlife Trust
- Duchy of Cornwall
- Environment Agency
- Exmoor National Park Authority
- Forestry Commission
- FWAG South West
- Guy Shrubsole
- Moor Trees
- National Trust
- Natural England
- Plantlife
- Plant One Cornwall
- Quantocks Hills National Landscape
- RSPB
- Somerset Wildlife Trust
- Southwest Lakes Trust
- Tamar Valley National Landscape
- Thousand Year Trust
- University of Plymouth
- The Woodland Trust
