It’s been a hard year for everyone, including our planet. With floods and droughts on the rise and a less than inspiring outcome from COP26 it’s easy to see why so much of the common messaging is laden with negativity. It can be hard to be positive when faced with a crisis.

It is true we are facing dual crises. Both our climate and nature are at risk if we don’t take urgent action. Despite this, 2021 has offered some positive outcomes for nature and wildlife in Wales.

A brighter future for Welsh rivers

We kicked off the year with some good news for our rivers! In January, the Welsh Government announced the introduction of the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2020. These new rules put agricultural best practice into legislation. This includes preventing farms in Wales from spreading slurry on their fields from mid-October to the start of February. This lessens the chance of it being washed into our rivers and streams and wreaking havoc on wildlife.

BBC presenter, Iolo Williams said: “This is great news for Welsh rivers and is long overdue. I wholeheartedly support any measures that will help improve the quality of Welsh rivers for wildlife and for people.”

No new roads in Wales

In June, the Welsh Government announced they were freezing all new road-building projects. This is of course a huge win for wildlife as not only does this save precious habitats from being lost to more tarmac, but it also means fewer emissions. This move is a part of Welsh Government's plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Lee Walters, Deputy Minister for Climate Change said: “We need a shift away from spending money on projects that encourage more people to drive, and spend more money on maintaining our roads and investing in real alternatives that give people a meaningful choice.”

Nature emergency declared

June was a busy month for the Welsh Government, as off the back of their freeze on new road-building projects, they officially announced a nature emergency. With a whopping 17% of species in Wales at risk of extinction, this couldn’t have come at a more important time for nature.

Julie James the Climate Change Minister said: “Restoring nature and mitigating the impact of climate change are top priorities for this government. We have already demonstrated this by our decision not to go ahead with the M4 Relief Road, which would have meant developing on part of the Gwent Levels and we are continuing to look for further ways to protect this important landscape.”

30 by 30

In October, the Welsh Government announced their commitments for supporting our calls for protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. This is a step in the right direction, however we would love to see further commitments to restoring nature going forward.

Rachel Sharp, Director of Wildlife Trusts Wales said: "We are in a nature crisis with species still becoming extinct. It's easy to designate sites such as National Parks, but these areas are not nature reserves. Welsh Government should lead the way by seeking to restore nature by 2030."

Restoring nature’s cathedrals

In November, we were delighted to be awarded over 2 million from the Welsh Government’s Nature Networks Fund. The fund was received by the five Wildlife Trusts in Wales and will be used to carry out vital work to improve the condition of protected sites across Wales. This funding will increase nature at these special sites, which in turn will benefit the local community and increase engagement with the natural world.

A good day for red squirrels

In December, the Welsh Government debated a change in the law so that tree felling licenses can be refused, or conditions set to protect the habitat of the iconic red squirrel. This is positive news for red squirrels as they struggle to compete with the larger, grey squirrel and as a result are forced to wilder, more remote locations. Despite having lived in the UK for around 10,000 years, red squirrel populations are estimated at 140,000, significantly less than their grey cousins.

Julie James, Climate Change Minister said: "We've committed to include provisions in the Agriculture Bill amending the Forestry Act to allow conditions to be added to felling licences. This will provide better protection for wildlife. The relevant legislation will be brought forward shortly.”