As delegates from 196 countries meet at Cop 16 to discuss progress in preserving biodiversity, discovery of a rare lichen deep within the majestic Dinefwr Park, Carmarthenshire, is a welcome sign of environmental recovery.

Lobaria pulmonaria lichen – an endangered species in Europe – has been discovered on several trees within The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales' Castle Woods Nature Reserve and National Trust’s Bog Woods.

This type of lichen was virtually wiped out in the UK during the Industrial Revolution and only survives where there is clean air, humid, and still conditions.

Only around 600 trees in Wales are known to have lobaria lichen on them, with there being around 40 sites across Wales holding just one or two trees with lobaria lichen.