Translate the text from Welsh to English.



 
Glastir Uwch yw cynllun cymorth amaeth\-amgylchedd\-hinsawdd lefel uchel Cymru sy’n rhoi tâl i ffermwyr a rheolwyr tir am reoli tir mewn ffordd benodol er mwyn rhoi sylw i ganlyniadau amgylcheddol allweddol mewn lleoliadau wedi’u targedu. Cynlluniwyd y cynllun â’r nodau a ganlyn: 

 * Lleihau allyriadau Carbon a Nwyon Tŷ Gwydr.
* Addasu i hinsawdd sy’n newid a chryfhau gallu busnesau fferm a choedwigaeth i wrthsefyll ei effeithiau.
* Rheoli ein hadnoddau dŵr i wella ansawdd dŵr a lleihau’r perygl o lifogydd.
* Cyfrannu at wneud ffermydd, coedwigaeth a’r gymuned wledig ehangach yn fwy economaidd gynaliadwy.
* Diogelu’r dirwedd a’r amgylchedd hanesyddol tra’n gwella mynediad ato.
* Cyfrannu at wyrdroi’r dirywiad ym mioamrywiaeth gynhenid Cymru.

 Mae dyluniad y cynllun wedi cael ei ganmol gan y Comisiwn Ewropeaidd fel un arloesol sy’n torri tir newydd drwy geisio targedu ymyriadau yn y ffordd fwyaf effeithiol er mwyn cyflawni’r heriau hyn. Mae nifer y ffermwyr sydd wedi dangos diddordeb yn y cynllun ac wedi ymuno ag ef wedi bod yn uchel hefyd, ac yn y tair blynedd gyntaf ers ei lansio cafwyd mwy o geisiadau i ymuno â’r cynllun nag y gellid eu derbyn. 

 Fel rhan o ymgynghoriad y Rhaglen Datblygu Gwledig y llynedd ymrwymodd Llywodraeth Cymru i gynnal gwerthusiad annibynnol o weithrediad Glastir Uwch. Prif bwrpas y gwerthusiad oedd asesu i ba raddau roedd Glastir Uwch yn llwyddo i roi sylw i’w amcanion amgylcheddol pwysig a nodi unrhyw gamau y gallai Llywodraeth Cymru eu cymryd er mwyn dal i wella’r ffordd y bydd y cynllun yn cael ei weithredu yn y dyfodol dan y Rhaglen Datblygu Gwledig newydd.

 Cadeirydd y Panel a benodwyd gennyf oedd Dr Geoff Radley, ymgynghorydd annibynnol a fu’n arwain yr adolygiad o’r cynlluniau Stiwardiaeth yn Lloegr. Yr aelodau eraill yw Dr Ieuan Joyce, cadeirydd Ymddiriedolaeth Cwm Elan, sydd wedi ymwneud llawer â chynlluniau amaeth\-amgylcheddol dros y blynyddoedd, a Mr Arfon Williams, cyn swyddog prosiect dan y cynllun Tir Gofal sydd bellach efo’r RSPB a Chyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru. Hoffwn fanteisio ar y cyfle hwn i ddiolch yn bersonol iddynt am eu gwaith.  

 Gwelodd y Panel nifer o enghreifftiau o ymarfer da. Yn fwyaf arbennig, gwelodd fod Glastir Uwch yn ystyried amcanion amrywiol o fewn fframwaith lle mae blaenoriaethau’n cael eu targedu, ac y bydd contractau’n cyflawni llawer mwy na dim ond yr amcanion penodol y dewiswyd hwy ar eu cyfer. Roedd y dulliau rheoli a sefydlwyd ar gyfer y cynefinoedd allweddol yn briodol ar y cyfan a rhoddwyd canmoliaeth benodol i’r dull o wella ansawdd dŵr. 

 Gwnaeth y Panel sylwadau penodol hefyd ar waith rhagorol Rheolwyr Contractau. Yn fwyaf arbennig, y ffordd roeddent wedi mynd ati i gynnwys cyngor o nifer o wahanol ffynonellau, ymdrin â gwrthdaro rhwng dulliau rheoli a oedd yn ofynnol ar gyfer gwahanol amcanion, a chyflwyno pecyn rheoli y byddai’n realistig i ffermwr fod yn barod i’w weithredu. 

 Mae’r Panel hefyd, gan ddilyn y cyfarwyddyd a roddwyd iddo, wedi nodi rhai meysydd lle nad yw’r ffordd y mae’r cynllun yn cael ei weithredu ar hyn o bryd yn gwneud y defnydd gorau bob amser o’i sylfeini cadarn. Yn unol â’i gylch gorchwyl, mae’r Panel wedi gwneud 10 argymhelliad sy’n nodi sut y gall Llywodraeth Cymru wella gweithrediad y cynllun er mwyn mynd i’r afael â’r materion hyn.  

 Rwy’n falch iawn fod negeseuon y Panel yn rhai cadarnhaol ar y cyfan, a’u bod yn dangos bod Glastir Uwch yn cyflawni ei amcanion yn effeithiol. Rwyf wedi ystyried argymhellion y Panel ac rwyf wedi amlinellu sut y bwriadaf ymateb iddynt. Bydd yr adroddiad llawn a chrynodeb o ymateb Llywodraeth Cymru’n cael ei gyhoeddi heddiw ar dudalennau gwe Glastir.  








Translation:


 
Glastir Advanced is Wales’ high level agri\-environment\-climate support scheme which provides payment to farmers and land managers to undertake specific management to address key environmental outcomes in targeted locations. It was designed with the aims of:


* Reducing Carbon and Green House Gas emissions.
* Adapting to climate change and building greater resilience into farm and forest businesses.
* Managing our water resources to improve water quality and reduce flood risks.
* Contributing to economic sustainability of farms, forestry and the wider rural community.
* Protecting the landscape and the historic environment while improving access.
* Contributing towards a reversal in the decline of Wales’ native biodiversity.


The design of the scheme has been praised by the European Commission as being pioneering and innovative in how it seeks to target interventions most effectively to meet these challenges. Interest and engagement from farmers has been high, with the scheme oversubscribed in the first three years since its launch.


As part of the Rural Development Programme consultation last year the Welsh Government made a commitment to undertake an independent evaluation of the delivery of Glastir Advanced. The main purpose of the evaluation was to assess how successful Glastir Advanced was being at addressing its important environmental objectives and to identify any steps Welsh Government could take which would continue to improve upon the delivery of the scheme going forward under the new Programme.


The Panel I appointed was chaired by Dr Geoff Radley, an independent consultant who previously led the review of the English Stewardship schemes. The Panel also included Dr Ieuan Joyce, chair of the Elan Valley Trust and  an active participant in agri\-environment schemes past and present, and Mr Arfon Williams, a former project officer under the Tir Gofal scheme and now with  the RSPB and Wales Environment Link. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank them for the work that they undertook. 


The Panel found many examples of good practice, in particular that consideration is given to a wide range of objectives within a targeted framework and that contracts will deliver far more than just the specific objectives for which they were selected. The Panel found that the management put in place for key habitats was generally appropriate, and the approach to ensuring improved water quality received particular praise.


The Panel also specifically commented on the excellent work of Contract Managers \-in particular, the care they had taken to incorporate advice from multiple sources, reconciling conflicts between management required for different objectives, and putting forward a management package that a farmer could realistically be prepared to undertake.


The Panel has, as requested, also identified some areas where the way the scheme as currently implemented does not always make the best use of its solid design foundations. In line with its remit, the panel has made 10 recommendations for how the Welsh Government can improve delivery of the scheme to remedy these issues. 


I am pleased with the overall positive messages from the panel, reflecting the effectiveness of Glastir Advanced in achieving its objectives. I have considered the recommendations made by the panel and I have outlined how I intend to respond to them. The full report and a synopsis with Welsh Government’s response will be published today on the Glastir web pages.