But, according to a new report by the organisation Rewilding Britain, though, as much as a quarter of the UK’s land could be restored to nature without a consequential fall in food production or farm incomes. And the group is calling for billions of pounds in farm subsidies to be spent on creating native woodlands and meadows, and on protecting peat bogs and salt marshes. As well as helping wildlife, they claim that the plan could cut our country’s carbon emissions to zero.

Yesterday, the Minister published the Welsh Government’s policy response to its ‘Brexit and our land’ consultation, and at the heart of it is the principle that public money must support public good, not private profit. The crucial thing is to define what constitutes a public good. Rewilding Britain’s plan is to put carbon sequestration front and centre as a model of payments that values carbon sequestration in different restored ecosystems to develop long-term mitigation of climate change. In other words, that translates as managed rewilding, and not neglecting swathes of our countryside. Around half of the 12,000 respondents to 'Brexit and our land' supported the Government’s proposals for payments based on outcomes and for a greater emphasis on environmental outcomes. The other half, mostly farmers, didn’t. We need to win those over with those arguments.

In terms of the uplands, some acknowledged the risks of destocking, while others pointed out the huge potential environmental benefits. One respondent worried that, in 20 years, Wales would be, and I quote, ‘a nation of park keepers’. You can’t please all of the people all of the time, and one respondent observed that huge political will and bravery is needed to deliver a bold public goods scheme. We’ve already had a model of what that might look like in mid Wales. The Summit to Sea project will bring together one continuous nature-rich area, stretching from the Pumlumon massif—the highest area in mid Wales—down through wooded valleys to the Dyfi estuary and out into Cardigan bay. Within five years, it will comprise of at least 10,000 hectares of land and 28,400 hectares of sea. It’s a bit of a tangent, but it strikes me that the great success of the Wales coast path project was to find a way to link up all public rights of way and permissive pathways and to negotiate new access to private land. By doing so, people can now enjoy 870 uninterrupted miles of walking from Chepstow to Queensferry, if they have the stamina.

Why can’t we do something similar for wildlife? Give it freedom to roam, not isolate it in pockets. Summit to Sea, or O’r Mynydd i’r Môr, is testing how those partnerships across multiple landholding and payments for public goods would work on a large scale. Whatever the strategy, we must do something and we must do it now. Britain is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. We are luckier than most in this country—Wales supports a large proportion of the UK population of many breeding and wintering bird species, for example, and, unlike England, we’re not killing one of our precious few native mammals en masse—badgers. However, we have witnessed dramatic declines too. The 2016 state of nature report indicates that one in 14 species in Wales are at risk of extinction and almost a third of birds here are declining significantly. Across the UK, 56 per cent of species have declined since 1970.

It’s not about the big ideas though; everyday, small changes are vital too. A few weeks ago, I met up with Pauline Hill, people and wildlife officer at the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales in Brecon, and we talked about three wildlife projects in Ystradgynlais at the hospital, the library and Penrhos allotments. The official scheme came to an end last year, but their legacy lives on in the community and through engagement, and gives environmental benefits. Throughout June, the wildlife trust is encouraging people to do something wild every day, as part of its 30 Days Wild challenge. We can all do our bit, especially in the 1.4 per cent of Wales that's defined as green urban space, parks and gardens. Those areas are vital for wildlife, not only for sustaining biodiversity, but as connectors to the 60 per cent of land that is framed, and the 35 per cent that is natural space—moors, forest, lake, grasslands, et cetera. I spent this morning on the roof of the Pierhead, visiting the bees. For example, they, in turn, feed on the wildlife-friendly areas planted in the local schools. It's the same idea behind the Welsh Government's green corridors initiative for trunk roads and motorways. But, as I said, 95 per cent of Wales is made up of farmland and natural land, so that's where we can, and we must, make the biggest difference. And if we're serious about using public money to deliver public good, rewilding is part of the big, bold and brave solution we need.