ABSTRACT
A participatory assessment of forest quality was undertaken for a local non-governmental organization (NGO), the DyfiEco Valley Partnership (DEVP), in Mid Wales. The aim of the assessment was to help the partnership develop a ‘vision’ for its sustainable rural development work as it related to forests in the watershed. Wales poses some interesting challenges in terms of rural development. Once a separate country, which retains its own language, Wales is now part of the United Kingdom and although there is quite a strong nationalist movement, this has never attracted majority support for independence. However, there has been strong support for greater local autonomy and a Welsh Assembly now provides greater national direction than has been the case in the past. The forest quality assessment took place at a time when these changes were starting to have real impacts on policy and addressed forests in one of the areas where Welsh culture remains strongest; over 50 per cent of local people still speak Welsh.
