Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:49 pm on 5 October 2021.
Llywydd, I agree that biodiversity loss in Wales is a very serious matter and that there is more that has to be done in order to use the opportunity we have while we still have it. I think one of the most striking things that I read in that RSPB report was that, if we lose the moment that we have, some of that biodiversity loss may well become irreplaceable. It's why the Government in the budget immediately before the coronavirus crisis mobilised £130 million-worth of investment in biodiversity loss and the recovery of habitats. The local places for nature scheme that we have means that biodiversity can be a matter not just for large-scale schemes, but for very small actions that can be taken, even in densely populated urban areas, where those local actions can help to repair the loss that we have seen and to give people confidence that collective action, in which they can play their part, can yet help us to repair the damage that has been done.
I don't accept that Wales is behind what is happening elsewhere in this regard. We have some powerful schemes in place with some funding that we've been able to find behind them. And now we have to take seriously the fact that, unless we are prepared to act while we have the opportunity, that opportunity may no longer exist.