New laws to protect wildlife in Wales

Plans for new laws to help reverse the loss of wildlife have been outlined by the Welsh government.

They include setting up a new independent watchdog to hold organisations' accountable for environmental issues like sewage spills or air pollution. Public bodies in Wales will also be forced to publish nature recovery action plans.

Opposition parties and campaigners said the changes were long overdue and urged ministers to "crack on". In recent years the Welsh government has faced criticism for the time it is taking to plug what has been seen as a gap in environmental protections after Brexit.

Black Grouse is a Red-listed species with important breeding populations in Wales (Gordon Speirs).

 

A new environmental governance body

The UK government set up an independent Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) in 2021 for England and Northern Ireland, while the Scottish government set up an organisation called Environmental Standards Scotland in the same year. It left Wales as the only part of the UK without permanent arrangements in place.

Climate Change Minister Julie James argued her proposals offered the chance to "leapfrog the other nations" and "go from last to first".

"We've been able to learn of the problems and difficulties there have been in the English and Scottish models – as well as learn from the things they've done well," she said.

The new environmental governance body would comprise of around eight commissioners with a range of expertise, with 12 additional staff recruited to support their work. It would look into the performance of Welsh government, public authorities and some private firms like water companies operating in Wales too, focusing on issues or complaints raised by the public.

 

Reversing nature declines

While it would start by providing guidance and support on improving environmental performance or meeting targets, it would have the power to take court action if needed. The plans feature in a long-awaited white paper for a new Environmental Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets Bill.

The bill would also put targets on reversing loss of wildlife into law – with a headline goal of stopping the declines in biodiversity by 2030 and for there to be "clear recovery" by 2050.

More specific targets on particular species and habitats will follow, it says.