3. What action is the Welsh Government taking to support the convention on biological diversity? OQ56228

Thank you. The nature recovery action plan sets out our key actions to support the delivery of targets under the convention on biological diversity. These include investment in the restoration of protected sites and peatlands, creating a national forest and agricultural pollution regulations to tackle a key driver of biodiversity decline.

Thank you, Minister. As the species champion for the fen raft spider, I'm acutely aware that Wales has experienced a startling decline in ecosystem resilience. I'm grateful that the Welsh Government have made commitments to tackle the decline in our biodiversity, but this is a growing issue worldwide, and needs legally binding targets to be set. The conference on the convention on biological diversity will take place at Kunming in China later this year. It is hoped that this conference will be to biodiversity what the Paris summit was to climate change. So, Minister, what role will Wales play at that summit, and will you be pressing the UK Government to push for and legally adopt binding targets to drive nature's recovery?

Yes, that work has already started. My officials are working very closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs—because, obviously, the UK Government is the member state; they're the UK party to the convention—to influence the negotiation of any post-2020 global biodiversity framework. So, on a similar basis to how we work—and COP26 will be working in a similar way. As you mentioned, it will be held in China in May. That's actually been postponed from—I think it was—the autumn of last year. So, this work has already started, and we'll certainly be playing a part, just like we do in the COP26 process as well.

Afternoon, Minister. As the Senedd champion of the freshwater pearl mussel—I know other Members are champions of their own different species as well—I'm particularly interested in this question from Caroline Jones, and in the convention strategic plan for diversity, which ran from 2011 until last year. Species like the freshwater pearl mussel are particularly susceptible to water pollution, and their continued presence in the River Wye in my constituency is dependent upon the pollution being kept to a minimum. Has the Welsh Government examined the impact of the convention's work, particularly in relation to water standards, and how do you think we can learn from what is being discussed beyond Wales and the UK, and have you considered any future legislation to improve water quality?

I think it's really important we do learn from each other, and, certainly, as part of the COP15 process, that will be done. We do play a really important role as a sub-national Government in that process and in the implementation and the mainstreaming of biodiversity. You'll be aware I also signed the Edinburgh declaration, which called on the convention on biological diversity to really start to take some bold action to halt biodiversity loss. We know, of course, we have a climate emergency, but I think we have a biodiversity emergency too. I've also supported the leaders' pledge, and we work through the Four Countries' Biodiversity Group to influence that post-2020 framework that I referred to in my earlier answer to Caroline Jones so that we can really shape future monitoring and reporting requirements, as well as sharing that best practice that we all have on implementation, but, of course, we can all learn from each other.

Minister, it is good to see so many Members of the Senedd serving as species champions and working with wildlife groups. I'm the species champion for the water vole, which I'm pleased to say is thriving on the Gwent levels, and the Gwent levels themselves help us achieve biodiversity. As you know, Minister, I'm chairing a Gwent levels working group to look at how we enhance and better protect that area, and the living levels partnership have done some really good work with communities to make sure that all the local issues are addressed. Would you agree with me that if we're going to see the sort of biodiversity we want in Wales, we do need to make sure that areas like the Gwent levels are better protected into the future?

Yes, I absolutely agree with you, and I think we all acknowledge that we're at a bit of a turning point, so I think we need to be different, don't we, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. We talk about a green recovery or a blue recovery, I think it is really important that—what you just referred to about better protection is something that we need to do. I think we need to engage society more as a whole around this as well, recognising that there is a biodiversity emergency, and I think we just need to mobilise a broader range of resources, if you like, going forward, so that we can achieve our climate goals and aims, and also our biodiversity goals and aims.