Conservation Policy

1. Key Principles

• Dan Yr Ogof has unique scientific, recreational, and scenic values.
• These values are endangered by both carelessness and intentional vandalism.
• These values once gone cannot be recovered.
• The responsibility for protecting the cave must be shared by all those who visit them for whatever purpose.
• The cave is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of the nation’s heritage to be protected for present and future generations.

2. Conservation Roles

The Conservation roles of the DYO advisory panel members severally and as a body.

• Agreeing and implementing policies which are in the best interests of the conservation of the cave.
• Encouraging and monitoring research, surveying and state-of-cave recording within the cave.
• Administering access for cavers in such ways as to promote conservation as part of other caving activities.
• Liaising with other interested bodies and organisations involved in the ethos and legal (SSSI) requirements of the cave’s conservation and the wider National Park and national caving communities.

The presentation and coordination of Conservation activities to the panel will be the specific role of the conservation coordinator.

3. Conservation Framework

The basic framework for management of Conservation in DYO.

• Conservation must underpin all caving activities in DYO.
• This includes the encouragement of self-discipline among cavers, education and research concerning the causes and prevention of cave damage; and special projects, such as the renovation of damaged areas.
• Caving parties should leave a cave as, or better than they found it.
• They should :-

• Provide means for the removal of any waste contamination.
• Exercise extreme care not to accidentally break or muddy formations.
• Not disturb life forms .
• Follow only taped routes in vulnerable areas so as not to unnecessarily increase the number of disfiguring paths and disturb soft cave deposits.
• Conform to the DYO exploration policies.
• Where appropriate or required (as with new exploration), collect essential information to support the increase of knowledge about the cave.

These management techniques are to be promoted and monitored by the panel members all of whom have a leadership role in these matters and will form the basic requirement for the duties of Wardens.

4. Conservation Projects

Additional conservation projects, both ongoing and planned are:

• Maintaining controlled access only to people and organisations that support the conservation objectives and to deny access to those who do not.
• Establishing and maintaining areas of pristine cave with effective protective measures.
• Removing, where appropriate and safe to do so, damaging contamination from the cave.
• Cleaning and restoring heavily used parts of the cave.
• Building a database of the current state of key areas of the cave for long term monitoring purposes.
• Immediate assessment and protection of new discoveries to allow the balance between exploration and preservation to be created and maintained.

5. Responsibilities

It is the duty of every Panel member and Conservation Warden to take personal responsibility for spreading a consciousness of the cave conservation problem to each potential user of caves. Without this, the beauty and value of our caves will not long remain with us.