A MAJOR conservation project to improve some of Wales’ rarest and most important habitats, including one at Tregaron, gets under way this week.

Natural Resources Wales’ £4m project will bring new life to Welsh raised bogs – rare habitats created over thousands of years when plants in the bog turn into peat and build up into a raised dome.

The project will improve the condition of seven of the most important sites in Wales.

These have been altered by centuries of peat cutting and drainage.

But, in peak condition, they help tackle climate change by storing vast amounts of carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.

The drive to repair them will also improve drainage systems, cut invasive species, remove scrub and introduce light grazing – all in partnership with local communities, landowners and contractors.

To mark the occasion, Cabinet secretary for the environment and rural affairs, Lesley Griffiths, visited the internationally renowned wildlife site at Cors Caron, near Tregaron.

NRW manages this site as well as Cors Fochno in north Ceredigion, the two largest sites in the project.

Funding for the four-year project has come from an EU LIFE programme grant and NRW, with support from Welsh Government and the Snowdonia National Park Authority.

Mrs Griffiths said: “I am delighted that NRW has succeeded in obtaining funding from the EU LIFE programme to help restore peat bogs in Wales.

“This ambitious project will demonstrate the benefits of peatland restoration and will generate long term environmental, economic and social benefits, in line with our Nature Recovery Action Plan and our commitment to the wellbeing of future generations."

See this week’s south editions for the full story, in shops and online now