Wildlife Trusts Wales (WTW) says that well-funded and meaningful action must be taken by the Welsh Government if nature losses are to be reversed. 

WTW’s comments follow the publication, today, of the publication of the Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee report “Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030”.  

WTW recognises that whilst some progress has been made, the Senedd Committee is right to call out the Welsh Government on its failure to set – and demonstrate how to meet – vital targets.  

Rachel Sharp, Director for Wildlife Trusts Wales, says:  
“Whilst the Welsh Government has some progressive environmental legislation, this hasn’t resulted in positive change for nature across Wales.  

“Although proposals for more environmental legislation are welcomed, it won’t mean anything for our nature if we don't see action on the ground – at scale and pace – to reverse the loss of nature. We are still having to stop the loss of nature through proposals such as new wind farms on peatland. 

“Action also needs to be adequately funded from across Government. This is a matter of urgency as the natural world is in serious trouble in Wales and continues to decline. One in six species in Wales is in danger of extinction.”  

The Welsh Government previously committed to halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 through agreements made at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference COP15. This agreement includes ensuring 30% of land, sea and freshwater is managed effectively for nature by 2030. It includes other targets to reduce biodiversity loss including reducing damaging nutrients and pesticides by at least 50%.

However, Wildlife Trust Wales is concerned that there is no clarity on how many of the targets will be achieved. This is particularly concerning given that we now have only five years to go to meet the agreed 2030 deadline.  

Whilst there have been discussions on how to apply these targets on land there has been little progress made on achieving them in ocean and freshwater environments. WTW estimates that only 6% of land and less than 5% of our seas match these requirements.  There is a long way to go and currently no evidence of the planning needed to secure nature’s recovery.  

Areas of concern are: 

• Local authorities have not received any guidance on how to achieve the target for the reduction in pesticide use by 2030. 

• There is no clear plan for the 50% reduction in harmful nutrients. The developing Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), for example, to date has no targets to reduce nutrient runoff from agricultural activities into the water environment. 

• Our rivers remain polluted and the one piece of legislation, the critical Water Pollution (Wales) Regulations, needs to be strengthened to reduce farm run-off. 

• The Environmental Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Bill is supposed to address the loss of nature and strengthen environmental law. Although the intention is that this will become law before the end of this Senedd in 2026 there is no clarity on the exact timeframe of this bill or on the targets it will include.  

A recent Scale of Need report by The Wildlife Trusts Wales, RSPB and National Trust assessed the long-term investment needed in nature and climate-friendly farming to address the worsening climate and nature crisis. It found that:  

• Increasing Welsh investment to £594 million per annum is essential to fund farmers to address these twin crises. Effective action to halt and restore nature on farms is critical given that nearly 90% of Wales is farmed.   

• Funding streams to address the nature crisis need to be joined up across all sectors of Government. A good example is future funding for the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) where the current and future budgets will still not be sufficient. 

• Funds from other areas, such as those to address flooding and climate change, should be made available to farmers, for example, for restoring peatlands and creating wetlands, either temporary or permanent, on flood plains which will help alleviate flooding as well as creating habitat for wildlife to thrive 

Tim Birch, Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager, Wildlife Trusts Wales, says:  
“We recognise Government funding is under great pressure, so we are seeking to work with the Welsh Government to develop new investment through green finance where there is considerable opportunity.  

“We need this investment for nature-based solutions to address the increasing impacts of climate change. For example, investing in restoring peatland not only creates wildlife habitat, but it also stores carbon and, importantly, can alleviate flooding. This is a win-win to protect people and wildlife and could critically create new income streams for farmers. It's time for fresh thinking from the Welsh Government in our changing climate.”