Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:25 pm on 4 October 2022.
Thank you, Darren. I was really delighted that we were able to listen to that and look at the way that the forestry licences are granted, so I really hope that that comes forward ASAP, myself, as well.
In terms of connectivity, this was the topic of a long discussion at the deep-dive, because, you're absolutely right, for some protected species, for endangered species or whatever iconic species, being connected to their worst enemy is a real problem. But for most species, having connectivity matters, because otherwise you can't mix gene pools and so on. However, it is a big problem for invasive species as well. The grey squirrel is, in fact, an invasive species, as you know, and it's actually a real problem for plant invasive species. So, the bane of mine and Mike's existence, the Japanese knotweed, happily travels down our rivers and all the rest of it. So, there was a long discussion about how we would construct connectivity in a way that took account of these kinds of invasive species and how we might contain them, so I'm absolutely happy to reassure you on that point.