Wholescape: Pembrokeshire

The Pembrokeshire Wholescape is one of three pilot Wholescapes across the UK.

project overview

Right now, humanity is facing three big problems that are all connected: reducing impact of climate change, protecting and restoring nature, and making sure everyone has enough healthy food. We call them the Triple Challenge because these issues are linked, so we can’t solve them separately. The way we live, use land and our seas and interact with nature affects the environment and our ability to handle climate change and in the near future, access to food.
WWF is tackling these challenges by looking at the big picture. The Wholescape approach understands that nature is connected across land, rivers, coasts, and seas. It also understands that the people who live and work in these areas are a crucial part of the solution. By recognizing these connections, WWF is finding ways to help both the environment and communities thrive together.
To figure out where we can make the most difference, WWF draws on the latest research and works closely with local people and organisations. This helps us understand the biggest challenges in an area and decide where we should focus our efforts. While we have identified key areas and projects to work on, we’re always learning and adjusting as we go, and we welcome feedback to improve our approach.
Working closely with local communities and organisations is key to making this approach successful. WWF helps local people take the lead and be a part of the solution. By working together, we can address environmental issues and improve people's lives at the same time.
Securing investment and building strong partnerships are essential to creating long-lasting change.
The Pembrokeshire programme is one of three pilot projects in the UK that’s putting the Wholescape approach into action. These projects are already showing real results by connecting actions for nature, climate, and people across whole ecosystems. The goal is to show that working at a larger scale, with nature, can lead to lasting, positive change for everyone.

Learn more about wholescapes

© Jamie Goodridge

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Regenerating the Cleddau

We want to regenerate the Cleddau river catchment by restoring nature and supporting communities to be resilient to climate change whilst continuing to produce a reliable source of food.
Bringing together regenerative farming practices and nature-based solutions will address water quality issues such as nutrient pollution in rivers. This will in turn lead to healthier seas and unlock the potential to restore seagrass and other marine habitats which we also want to demonstrate in projects along the estuary.
We are developing a vision for the Cleddau catchment by bringing together communities, farmers, users and statutory authorities. This vision will help to develop ‘investment ready’ projects along the river and help bring in funding to support them.
© Gareth Turnbull / Percolated Photography / WWF-UK

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Supporting farmers to be resilient

We want to work with farmers to support their financial security and their ability to work in harmony with nature and build a climate-resilient future. We believe that regenerative farming is a way to do this.
We know that the food supply chain needs to support farmers to work with nature and ensure their products are purchased with a fair price. We will work with businesses to try to achieve this.
We also want to work with the local authority to see if supply chains in Pembrokeshire can be developed so locally grown regenerative food goes to schools and hospitals.
© Matt Horwood / WWF-UK

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Regenerative ocean farming

The Pembrokeshire coast has a long tradition of wild harvesting of seaweed, especially for food like laverbread and for use as a fertiliser on farms. We think seaweed holds a huge amount of potential.
Ocean farming (seaweed, oysters and mussels grown on lines off the coastline) has the potential to be part of a regenerative economy, providing jobs and new markets in the area. It can also support marine life and absorb pollution from the land so it helps the environment too.
‘Biostimulants’ made from the seaweed can go back onto the land to help grow crops helping farmers to reduce their environmental impact and carbon emissions. This link between land and sea can help create a regenerative local economy and food system.
Seaweed and mussels are low environmental impact superfoods and can be part of nutritional security for people in the area.
We're working with a regenerative ocean farm, Câr y Môr, to explore the potential of the seaweed industry in Pembrokeshire and expanding our work in the area to support the wider sector.
© In The Dark / WWF-UK

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Connecting communities

We want to inspire and support people to understand they are not separate from nature, are able to contribute to addressing the triple challenge, and are motivated and inspired about the future we can collectively create.
We also want to support people to be able to access nutritious, affordable and sustainably produced food. And help communities be resilient to climate change and support the wellbeing of future generations. That includes where green jobs may be able to be supported in Pembrokeshire and developing the skills for the future.
© Jospeh Gray / WWF-UK

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Better decision making for triple challenge

Decisions made through policies, regulations, financing and investment need to be done in a way that works to address the triple challenge. They also need to move away from silos into working more collaboratively. How the governance system in Pembrokeshire works is therefore vital to make transformational change happen.
We will aim to support shifts in policies and regulation, where and how investment is made and shifts in the mindsets of decision makers – so they see ecosystems as connected and value nature.

A grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) swims in the water at Câr-Y-Môr Seaweed farm in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Why we are doing it

Pembrokeshire, located in west Wales, is known for its diverse landscapes, including beaches, coastlines, and ancient forests. It is home to the UK’s only coastal National Park, supporting rich marine life. However, its natural environment faces threats from pollution, habitat loss, climate change, and disease.

For example, the Cleddau river, a Special Area of Conservation, is heavily polluted despite its ecological significance. Agriculture dominates the land, but farmers are struggling with climate pressures and economic challenges, and are not sufficiently supported to make changes that benefit both nature and food production.

The fishing industry, once a major part of Pembrokeshire’s heritage, is also declining due to rising costs and inflation.

Waves crash against the Pembrokeshire coastline near Câr-Y-Môr seaweed farm in Wales.

Socially and economically, the region faces issues typical of rural areas—aging population, youth migration, over-tourism, and housing affordability, exacerbated by an increase in second homes. WWF wants to support addressing these challenges and thinks using the Wholescape approach will help.

There is so much potential for the future of this area, working together with local communities and organisations we hope will accelerate action.

For more information on challenges and opportunities see this report we commissioned: Pembrokshire by Pobl Tir Mor.

Jessica McQuade talk at the Big Retreat Festival

Project impact

We started the programme in Pembrokeshire in 2022.

Over the first couple of years, we bought together a wide range of communities and stakeholders to explore what the key issues are in Pembrokeshire. Our aim is to be directed by the area’s needs, and play a supporting and enabling role in accelerating transformation.

As part of this we have been supporting research, organising workshops, attending local partnership meetings and funding community projects.

We have also undertaken systems analysis and modelling to check if we are working on projects and areas that have the biggest impact.

Below provides details of the work done so far...

© Jessica McQuade

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Connecting communities

We worked with a local organisation to find and analyse all the important groups and issues in Pembrokeshire to help us better understand the area.
We have funded several small nature grants through the Pembrokeshire Nature Partnership covering topics such as species surveys, citizen science and local habitat management.
We have worked in partnership with the charity PLANED to help communties stand up for nature in their neighbourhood in Neyland, which lies on the river Cleddau estuary.
In St David’s, we are working in partnership with Literature Wales on their flagship project ‘Lit in Place’ which explores the climate and nature emergency through literature.
We are supporting citizen science testing of water quality organised by the Cleddau River Project.
With Câr y Môr, we have delivered outreach and education to promote and learn about oceans, biodiversity, and climate action, including presentations and visits to local schools and community groups and more. We also supported a mobile education unit from Ireland to come and show young people how seaweed farming offers a positive future for jobs.
We supported Wales’ first seaweed festival to help engage with people and celebrate the history and the future of seaweed.
We are developing a film of community engagement and perceptions of ocean farming in Pembrokeshire.
We’ve partnered up with Urdd Gobaith Cymru, Wales’s largest youth organisation, to offer free Sustainability and Nature courses for young people at their Pentre Ifan Residential Centre in Pembrokeshire which is the first environmental and well-being centre of its kind in Wales. 
© Wild Wonders of Europe / Juan Carlos Munoz / WWF

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Better decision making for the Triple Challenge

We conducted research and held a workshop locally to understand how governance in Pembrokeshire can help tackle the triple challenge.
We are now working to support these organisations to address the issues, build partnerships to support transformation, and build capacity and mindset shifts to see nature and climate risk as key in decision making. Our focus is making Pembrokeshire’s food system strong and adaptable to climate risk.
We researched and held a workshop to understand how governance in Pembrokeshire tackles key challenges. Now, we're helping organisations address these issues, form partnerships for change, and shift mindsets to prioritise nature and climate risks in decisions.
© Paul Rogers / WWF UK

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Driving investment

We are working with companies, philanthropists and the public sector to try to encourage funding to support projects that restore nature and tackle climate change in the area. We have successfully funded seaweed projects and jobs in Pembrokeshire and used money to fund small nature restoration projects and research.
We have mapped out the supply chains in the area to help understand where products produced in Pembrokeshire are being used. Companies have a role to play in helping farmers to get a fair price and support nature friendly methods.
We are funding a piece of research to identify the actions needed to improve the water quality of the Cleddau. These findings can be used by businesses to understand the impact of their supply chain and understand where improvements can be made.
We want to support blended and innovative models of financing transformation in Pembrokeshire so held workshops with local organisations to understand the needs and how different models of income for nature restoration and farming are needed.
See more detail under ‘Working with the farming community to understand and support a pathway to profit and sustainability’.
© Gareth Turnbull / Percolated Photography / WWF-UK
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Working with the farming community
WWF worked with Natwest Bank to fund research and conversations with farmers to understand the challenges of transitioning to more regenerative farming methods, particularly for the dairy sector.
We held a workshop with farmers, representatives and businesses and we are now in discussions with cooperatives and farmer representatives about next steps for Pembrokeshire. We hope to develop a funding package and support to address the issues identified.
- Modelling the transition costs and benefits for farmers in the UK | WWF
- A path to profit and sustainability | WWF
We are funding farm trials to look at the impact of seaweed bio-stimulants on crops and are exploring funding natural capital assessments of Pembrokeshire Council farms to help explore the best way for farms to be resilient and nature friendly.
© Matt Horwood / WWF-UK

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Unlocking the power of seaweed

We wanted to develop our ideas for the support the aquaculture sector in Pembrokeshire needed so we funded several interviews and a workshop which provided a report to inform our approach.
We have worked closely with Câr y Môr to secure marine licensing for trial sites and inform politicians of the value of ocean farming to Wales – hoping to improve the process and invest in development of this industry.
We have also funded PEBL to monitor the environmental impacts of Câr y Môr seaweed farms.
Thanks to National Lottery players, WWF-UK has received almost £1 million over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. The funding will allow WWF Cymru to work with partners Câr y Môr, the Scottish Association for Marine Science and PEBL to share the story of seaweed farming in Pembrokeshire.
We are funding trials on dairy farms in Pembrokeshire and working closely with trials underway in Norfolk. This will also help to understand whether seaweed bio-stimulant can be used at scale to not only reduce impacts on the environment – on both land and river health but also create a local circular and regenerative economy in Pembrokeshire.
© Nick David Tour-It 360 / istock

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Regeneration of the Cleddau river

WWF has worked on collecting evidence to understand the issues affecting the Cleddau river, the estuary and Milford Haven Waterway. This has including being part of West Wales Nutrient Management Board stakeholder and technical advisory group; funding mapping of land use for the area; commissioned Pembrokshire Coastal Forum and Project Seagrass to research how the water quality in the estuary, which is affected by what happens on land, is having an impact on the marine ecosystems such as oysters, seagrass and salt marsh; funding a large piece of research on the type and number of farm actions along the Cleddau river to help meet the water quality standards.
We are jointly funding a natural capital assessment of Pembrokeshire County farms along the Cleddau river.
We are working with local organisations to develop a catchment approach and help get a plan to be ‘investment ready’ and seeking funding to deliver a large-scale programme.