Fersiwn Gymraeg ar gael yma.
RSPB Cymru welcomes the vision set out by the Natur a Ni/Nature and Us Citizens’ Assembly. This vision for Wales resonates strongly with the People’s Plan for Nature, created by a UK wide Citizens’ Assembly supported by the RSPB, WWF and the National Trust. We have been pleased to contribute to the Natur a Ni process and are grateful for NRW’s support with the People’s Assembly. Both the Natur a Ni vision and the People’s Plan call for nature – and people – to have a bigger voice in decisions that impact on our environment. They call for government leadership and action at all levels – by national and local government, nature conservation organisations, businesses and communities.
People need nature. It provides us with clean air and water. It is our greatest ally in the fight against climate change and has the potential to both help reduce carbon emissions – by storing more carbon within ecosystems – and to help us adapt to the impacts of climate change that we are already seeing, for example reducing flood risk by holding more water in landscapes. Nature is bound up with sustainable food production; it is fundamental to our health and well-being.
But the evidence is clear: we are losing our wildlife. The 2023 State of Nature Wales report shows an average 20% decline in abundance of terrestrial and freshwater species. One in six species is at risk of being lost from Wales altogether, and historic and continued pressures have led to Wales being one of the most nature-depleted countries on earth.
The Nature and Us Citizens Assembly has made some clear and welcome calls to action. We wholeheartedly agree that we need Government to adopt a clear plan to restore nature, backed up by strong communication and engagement around decision-making. As the Citizens’ Assembly says, access to nature is critically important to people’s health and well-being, and more needs to be done to ensure improved access for all. Our energy, transport and food systems need to be transformed in a way that not only enables people to live greener, healthier lives, but that helps to drive nature’s recovery.
As the State of Nature 2023 report says, we have never had a clearer understanding of the state of nature, or how to fix it. Following the report’s publication, we asked people to call on their Members of the Senedd to respond to the nature crisis by supporting these urgent steps:
For our part, RSPB Cymru is working to secure a brighter future for Wales’ biodiversity. We do this by managing our 18 nature reserves where we look after a huge array of habitats and species, and welcome visitors to experience, enjoy and learn in these beautiful, nature-rich settings. Nature needs us to think big, so we work in partnership with others to restore habitats and bring back threatened species, through projects like the Celtic Rainforest Project, Natur am Byth, the Living Levels Landscape Partnership, and Tir Canol.
We are also supporting the Nature Neighbourhoods project, implementing the People’s Plan for Nature at a neighbourhood level by working with community partners in Maindee, Neyland and Pwllheli, to enable greater capacity for community participation and community-driven actions for nature. The three Welsh anchor organisations will be part of a network of 18 diverse, mostly urban neighbourhoods across the UK, who will be empowered with the tools and resources they need to bring their communities together with local decision makers to make nature and climate action an essential part of future planning.
And we will continue our advocacy with the Welsh Government, the Senedd and others, including NRW, to secure the legislation, policies and plans that nature needs to recover and thrive.