As part of its contribution to tackling climate change, Wales has chosen to rename the popular Brecon Beacons to abandon its association with historical signal fires.
The region, home to the much-climbed 886-metre Pen y Fan mountain, will now be officially referred to as the “Bannau Brycheiniog” National Park.
Officials believe the word “beacon” alongside the symbol of a flaming bonfire emitting carbon “does not fit with the ethos” of an environmentally friendly organisation.
“We’re trying to cut carbon and push to net zero so having a carbon-burning beacon just isn’t a good look,” said Catherine Mealing-Jones, chief executive of the national park in Wales.
She said the change was in “direct response to the climate and biodiversity emergency”.
The new name, pronounced "Ban-eye Bruck-ein-iog", is also part of efforts to promote the Welsh language and will feature on signs and promotional leaflets.
It comes as a new vision is in the pipeline for the 1350 square kilometre park in mid-Wales, which is used widely by the public and for military training and testing.
The plan is to build more onshore wind turbines and reduce sheep numbers with the ai of reaching net zero by 2035.
But some Conservative politicians have derided the change, suggesting that other historical names such as “Burns Night” or the town of Blackburn or Coalville might be vulnerable.
“I have to say that I have never made the association between the Beacons and fire,” said Robert Goodwill, Tory MP for Scarborough and Whitby. “I think it is more important to retain historical names as part of our heritage.”
Ms Mealing-Jones admitted “that it’s absolutely fine” that the estimated three million annual visitors to the area will “continue to call it the Brecon Beacons”.
“As a national park, we are not just duty bound but we are pleased to promote Welsh language and Welsh heritage,” she added.
Last year the Snowdonia National Park Authority in Wales changed the name of the country’s highest mountain from Snowdon to Yr Wyddf.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Favourite food: Fish and seafood
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