3. Will the Minister provide an update on plans to increase tree planting across Wales? OAQ55144

Thank you. I'm committed to increasing our rate of tree planting to 2,000 hectares per year. We're investing £4.5 million to begin establishing a national forest. This will accelerate the rate of tree planting in Wales alongside other policies, such as the Glastir woodland creation scheme.

Of course, we as individuals could do something more as well, and plant trees in our own gardens. I also want to stress the importance of trees in reducing pollution, flooding and acting as carbon stores. What support is the Welsh Government giving to agroforestry, which would help with flood mitigation, reduce flash flooding and reduce overland flows?

Thank you. I recognise the wide-ranging benefits that planting trees, including for agroforestry, can bring. Increasing the woodland cover in Wales is a core part of our low-carbon delivery plan to tackle climate change and, as you say, it can also address poor air quality and flooding issues. One of the key priorities of the draft national strategy for flood and coastal erosion risk management in Wales is to deliver more natural interventions and catchment approaches to help improve environmental resilience and I think one thing that we have seen over the past month is you can't just keep building higher walls and using more concrete. We need to look at those natural interventions.

Our sustainable management scheme has also supported collaborative landscape-scale projects, and that takes action to improve the resilience of our natural resources across Wales and those include flood risk management on the River Clwyd, increasing resilience within our iconic Welsh woodlands in sites right across Wales, and nature-based solutions in the Dyfi catchment, and also revitalising our precious peatland and upland habitats throughout Wales. And I think you made a very important point at the beginning, Mike Hedges, that we can all play a part—if we're able to—by planting trees in our gardens.

I think Mike Hedges makes a really good point to bring this question up, because they are so important, and I really respect the 2020 target that the Welsh Government have of 2,000 hectares of trees to be planted per year. However, I am concerned that, in tandem with that, and, as a response to a freedom of information request submitted by the Welsh Conservatives, we established that, across the four NRW managed sites, where onshore windfarms are located, a total of 1,938,400 trees have been felled, which is the equivalent of 1,155 hectares of trees being lost. So, essentially, there's a hole in the bottom of this bucket, isn't there—as you are planting them, they're being felled. So, Minister, can you just give us some idea of the rationale behind that? And will you also then be committed to increasing your rate of replanting, given that NRW are felling almost as fast as Welsh Government are trying to plant?

I'm not aware of the specific reasons around the figure that Angela Burns refers to, but, certainly, replanting is just as important for me as new sites as well. But I'll certainly look into that figure and provide the Member with a response as to why that is the case. But NRW are very aware of the target that we have, our need to reach it. I don't think 2,000 hectares is overly ambitious. I think we really should be able to do that, and, clearly, with the national forest as well, I'm very hopeful that that figure will be reached.

Minister, my question's basically the same as Angela's. Under the freedom of information request, more than 1.5 million trees have been felled on NRW land to make way for windfarms across Wales. My second part would be: what measures does your Government take to mitigate the loss of such vast swathes of the ecosystem, and how can you justify one against the other?

So, just to add to my answer to Angela Burns, it is important that NRW recognise the need for replanting, and clearly there are diseased trees that we have to also make sure that we are able then to replant after a certain time has passed. I think tree planting is a long-term aspiration. I've been the first to hold my hands up and say we are not planting a sufficient number of trees, for a variety of reasons, but we are committed to doing better in future, so that we can tackle biodiversity and climate change emergencies, and deliver those multiple benefits that Mike Hedges referred to in his initial questions.

Minister, you identified disease as one of the reasons we're felling. Obviously, in the Afan valley, we saw the first of the diseased trees being felled, and they're still being felled up there now. Replanting is crucial. Therefore, will you have discussions with NRW to ensure that their plans for replanting are implemented as quickly as possible? Because not only does it affect the trees, but also it affects industry and businesses that benefit from the mountain biking up in the Afan valley, which are losing customers because of the felling.

Yes, certainly I will have that conversation with NRW. I think—the other quarter of the meeting that we had yesterday, when we weren't talking about flooding, we were talking about timber and tree planting, et cetera. So, they are very aware of that. And the need to plant the right tree in the right place—that's also very important.