Today, leading wildlife organisations, including Wildlife Trusts Wales, publish a landmark State of Nature 2023 report. It shows that nature is continuing to decline at an alarming rate across the UK, which is already one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.
The State of Nature Wales 2023 reports alarming declines in our species, with 18% (one in six) at risk of extinction in Wales. This includes plants and animals such as Fen orchid, Water vole and Sand lizard. The abundance of land and freshwater species has, on average, fallen by 20% across Wales since 1994. Of almost 3,900 species assessed, more than 2% are already extinct in Wales.
Why is this happening? The causes are known habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, pesticides, intensive agriculture and development. Wales has signed up to reduce the use of pesticides by 50% by 2030, but still local authorities spray our pavements and parks. It has also pledged to reduce nitrates in our rivers by 50%, but we still see sewerage spills and agriculture runoff choking our rivers. We need action at scale and at pace. Not just for nature’s sake but our own. Nature provides us with the air we breathe, pollinators and soil to grow food and is proven to improve our well-being.
Wales has set itself an ambitious target of effectively managing 30% of our land and sea for nature by 2030. We fully support this, but we need action, not words, to make this a reality. If we don’t act now, it may be too late. Wales’s next generation may not get to enjoy seeing butterflies in the summer, hearing birds in the garden or the rustle of a hedgehog.
Everyone in Wales can make a difference; even the smallest action, from feeding birds, to stopping using pesticides, and making gardens wilder – it all makes a big difference. Companies often miss out on action for nature in their environmental policies. We need to stop looking at nature’s recovery as a cost. It is one of the greatest opportunities for new jobs. Nature-based solutions to the threats of flooding and droughts are urgently needed for many communities in Wales.
Our farmers have a unique ability to help nature’s recovery, and many are becoming nature-friendly farmers. The Welsh Government has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to focus new farm subsidies on nature’s recovery with the introduction of the new Sustainable Farming Scheme in 2025. However, there’s a lack of budget to improve farm habitats, and the future for Welsh farmers has never been so uncertain. Farmers are the key to the recovery of nature on land as almost 90% of the land in Wales is farmland; we must recognise and reward them in the long term.
Wales has more sea than land, but again, historic overfishing has depleted food available for nature. Pressures from aggregate extraction, cabling, and now off-shore wind farms continue to threaten our marine wildlife.
People’s concern about nature loss, climate change and degraded wild places is a significant voting issue. Wildlife Trusts Wales are calling on Welsh and UK politicians of all parties to commit to an ambitious programme of policies to support nature’s recovery across the UK.
Next year, there will be a general election in the UK. Although the environment, farming and fisheries are devolved (decided in Cardiff), we still need voters in Wales to send a clear message to MPs that they care about what’s happening to nature.
Wildlife Trusts Wales has identified five priorities for MPs ahead of the next UK general election. We will also be asking Senedd politicians to back the same asks in the Welsh Government election in 2026.
Bring back the UK’s lost wildlife
The UK Government must work across departments to put nature into recovery by protecting and restoring at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. Beavers should be in every river catchment, a nature recovery network should join up wild places, and damaging fishing practices – such as bottom trawling – must be banned.
End river pollution
With the UK among the worst countries in Europe for water quality, the UK Government must sufficiently fund all enforcement agencies to do their job. By 2030, nutrient pollution from farming, sewage and development must at least be halved, there must be stronger protections for waterways, and more wetlands should be created to tackle flood and drought.
Fund wildlife-friendly farming
The destruction of nature and the impacts of climate change are the biggest threats to food security in the UK. Farmers must be supported and incentivised to help wildlife recover by creating more space for nature, significantly reducing pollution, and halving harm from pesticides by 2030. The budget for nature-friendly farming should increase to at least £4.4 billion a year, with a corresponding uplift for Welsh farmers.
Enable healthy communities
More than a third of people are unable to access green places near their homes. The UK Government must support the creation of more green space in neighbourhoods, fund and integrate green prescribing into community-based health services and enable all children to access outdoor learning opportunities.
Tackle the climate emergency by protecting and restoring natural habitats.
Nature can make a huge contribution to achieving net-zero targets if habitats are restored because peatlands, woodlands, and other wild places store carbon. Additionally, the UK Government must integrate climate adaptation strategies across all departments, create a nature recovery network to help wildlife adapt to change, protect blue carbon stores from damage, and invest in energy efficiency.
Read more about our priorities for the next UK Government here.
Rachel Sharp, Director of Wildlife Trusts Wales, says:
“The latest State of Nature report shows that despite some successes, the alarming ongoing decline of wildlife in Wales has not stopped. It is shocking that extinctions continue, with 1 in 6 species in Wales now being threatened. We know what actions are needed, but the scale and pace of the restoration of the natural world is simply not there. Nature is threatened by poor management, development, pollution and the use of pesticides. With 90% of the land in Wales is farmed, therefore, farmers have a unique role to play in nature’s recovery. But they must be recognised and enabled to implement further measures for nature through the new sustainable farming scheme that will be introduced by the Welsh Government in 2025. We must also remember that Wales has more sea than land and is experiencing the same decline from development and the lack of effective management. With a Team Wales approach involving both the public, farming and private sectors, we believe that nature’s recovery can happen, but business as usual is not an option; we need urgent action.”