Fersiwn Gymraeg ar gael yma
Wildlife has been in the news in Wales this week following the publication of a report by the Senedd Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee (CCEI Committee). This is one of many Committees in the Senedd – cross party groups of MSs who scrutinise the Welsh Government’s performance in different areas of policy, like health, culture and the economy.
The CCEI Committee report followed an inquiry – a call for written evidence followed by face-to-face discussions with a range of contributors – into the Welsh Government’s progress towards halting and reversing the loss of nature. The resulting report is highly critical of the Welsh Government for its slow progress towards key commitments, including the global target to protect 30% of land and seas for nature by 2030.
One opportunity considered by the Committee to boost action for nature was the forthcoming ‘Nature Positive Bill’ on environmental governance and biodiversity targets. The Committee’s report urges the government to include a headline target in the Bill aligned with its commitment under the Global Biodiversity Framework to reverse the decline in biodiversity by 2030 and achieve recovery by 2050. It also stressed the importance of regulations under the Bill – that will set out more detail on our biodiversity targets – coming forward swiftly, and called on the Welsh Government to ensure its work to develop biodiversity targets is properly resourced. The report also emphasises the importance of clear, costed action plans to deliver on nature recovery targets.
These recommendations are all very positive, and it is great news that the Committee has set out its stall for a high level of ambition, because once the Bill comes to the Senedd it is likely to be this group of MSs leading on its scrutiny.
Also among the Committee’s thirty recommendations are calls on government to double down on its ’30 by 30’ commitment, emphasising the importance of monitoring and management of protected areas to make sure their nature is thriving; making sure the delayed designation of Marine Conservation Zones considers seabirds and other mobile species; and making sure that the Sustainable Farming Scheme contributes to biodiversity recovery. It stresses the importance of increasing investment in nature from Government and private sources, and of integrating biodiversity across policy areas to ensure a whole-government response to the nature emergency.
RSPB Cymru welcomed the report. We warmly welcome the Welsh Government’s ambitious commitments to restore nature, but the evidence is clear that wildlife is declining at an alarming rate and there is no room for doubt over the scale of the challenge. That is why we need the ‘Nature Positive Bill’ to set targets for nature’s recovery against which Government can be held to account. Getting this right will benefit everyone – nature is our life support system. But time is running out.