'Time to jump-start restoration', says Wales' climate change minister

Peatland restoration targets are to be tripled in Wales in an attempt to boost biodiversity across the country.

It follows an expert review of ways to tackle nature loss, commissioned by the Welsh government. The panel has also called for better management of protected sites on land, and more conservation areas at sea.

Climate Change Minister Julie James has said "a decade of decisive action" was needed to "jump start the restoration of our ecosystems". Conservation groups have warned Wales is "haemorrhaging wildlife", with a major report in 2019 suggesting one in six species could soon disappear.

Eurasian Curlew is spiralling towards extirpation as a breeding bird in Wales (Paul Bradley).

These included birds like Northern Lapwing and Eurasian Curlew, mammals such as Water Vole and insects including Marsh Fritillary and Snowdon Leaf Beetle.

Ahead of a global summit on the issue in Canada in December, Welsh ministers had ordered a "deep dive" review with leading experts. The recommendations centre around how to meet a UN goal of protecting and effectively managing 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030, something both the Welsh and UK governments have pledged to achieve.

The panel has called for a "better, bigger and more effectively connected" portfolio of protected sites in Wales, with more of the sea set aside as marine protected areas too. A network of nature recovery exemplar areas should be created, the experts have said, showcasing a range of different habitats and conservation work that could be replicated elsewhere.

They have also called for better monitoring, to measure progress towards the "30 by 30" goal. Currently, sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) and other areas designated to protect rare wildlife and habitats cover 10.6% of Wales.

But a recent Natural Resources Wales report revealed almost half were not being monitored due to lack of funds. Where information was held, about 60% of protected areas were classed as being in an unfavourable condition for wildlife.

Sharon Thompson, RSPB Cymru's head of policy and one of the biodiversity review's panel members, has said it was critical the recommendations were "urgently turned into action".