4. What is the Welsh Government doing to enhance biodiversity? OQ55881

Thank you. Welsh Government is committed to a green and blue recovery from COVID-19, and enhancing biodiversity, which underpins our health, economy and well-being. The renewed nature recovery action plan, the national forest and restoring Natura 2000 sites and peatlands are some of the initiatives we are taking to achieve this.  

I thank you for that answer, Minister, and I'm really pleased to see that Welsh Government has now chosen the first sites for the national forest, and a number of those are in my constituency of Mid and West Wales. I was heartened to see that high numbers of people are keen to take part in planting new woodlands, with more than 350 expressions of interest regarding those projects. Enhancing and creating woodland, as well as connecting it right across Wales, I'm sure, will be hugely beneficial to nature and people. Minister, what assessment have you made about how the new national forest could help enhance biodiversity and help reverse the decline in many species that's happened in recent times?

Thank you. I was very pleased we were able to make the announcement around the national forest during a very successful Wales Climate Week, which, for those Members who didn't catch up with it, is now online, and I hope people will be able to listen to the talks and the discussions we had. 

What the national forest will do, and you'll be aware this was part of the First Minister's manifesto commitment, is that it will support biodiversity through creating more mixed woodlands, enhancing existing woodlands, and bringing them into active management, and also looking for opportunities to connect those woodlands together over time. I think it's really right that we recognise there's a huge enthusiasm from partners and individuals to play their part and create their own woodlands as part of the national forest. It's really important the right trees are planted in the right places, so that we can maintain and enhance biodiverse and resilient ecosystems. So, we want the procedures to be simple, to be predictable and as timely as possible. So, we have begun work to identify the changes that will be required, but I really want the national forest to be accessible for all, and it's been great to see the enthusiasm it's been welcomed with.

I think that's a great question from Joyce Watson and I think the idea of a national forest is a really good one that is long overdue, and it's good to be developing carbon sinks like a forest. Can I ask you about a slightly different angle of biodiversity and that relating to water quality and our waterways? As the Senedd champion for the freshwater pearl mussel, I'm always eager to support biodiversity, and I know that other Members, as champions of their own species, feel the same.

The freshwater pearl mussel is under threat because its lifecycle relies on very pure river water. Many species are affected by the pollution of our rivers, and only recently, there was the issue of pollution in the upper reaches of the River Wye, emanating from poultry farms, I think, in that case. So, how is the Welsh Government protecting the quality of water in our waterways to safeguard biodiversity, both for its own sake and for future generations?

The Member raises a very important point about pollution, and there's a question further on from your colleague and my colleague Angela Burns around pollution. You'll be aware that I did lay the draft agricultural pollution regulations earlier this year and I've asked my officials to provide me with advice around the introduction of that. We are seeing unacceptable levels of pollution right across Wales and I absolutely agree that these are unacceptable and the majority of people, I'm sure, agree with us. And certainly, the advice that I've had from the UK climate change commission is that we need to bring forward regulations as a matter of urgency.

Minister, the loss of biodiversity is one of the greatest threats facing our species. We have lost so many species, and populations of the UK's most important wildlife have dropped by a staggering 60 per cent since 1970.

The ecological damage will have untold impacts on humanity and our ability to feed ourselves. We have already seen the impact of our encroachment into other habitats—the global coronavirus pandemic. Minister, how will your Government ensure that all of its policies take account of the potential impact that they will have on worldwide biodiverstiy?

Thank you. You will have heard me say that, as well as a climate emergency, we are facing a biodiversity emergency too. One of the policies is Natura 2000, which I mentioned in my earlier answer to Joyce Watson, and I'm very pleased that, as part of our COVID recovery, we have taken action to support the registration of those Natura 2000 sites. They're havens to some of our most valuable and threatened species and habitats. This is an opportunity, and we have to look for opportunities amongst all those challenges. Certainly, coming out of the COVID pandemic into the recovery phase, we need to protect the natural environment; it's absolutely essential. And as a Government, we are committed to doing that.