Wales: Nature loss plan criticised for lacking ambition

“With 2030 only five years away, the Welsh government need to be prioritising setting targets to halt and reverse the loss of nature in Wales by 2030 to bring Wales in line with international biodiversity agreements it has already signed up to,” said Policy and Advocacy Manager at WWF Cymru Alex Philips.

Annie Smith, head of nature policy and casework at RSPB Cymru, said the report showed how the Welsh government had made ambitious commitments to restore nature, but was failing to deliver.

“Chronic under-investment in our species and habitats has led to a situation where only a fraction of our protected areas are in good condition and our wildlife is declining at an alarming rate,” she added.

The Welsh government said it recognised “the need to increase the scale and pace of our delivery to meet both current and future biodiversity targets”.

A spokesperson pointed to initiatives such as The National Forest programme and Local Places for Nature, external scheme, and said £150m had been invested during this Senedd term alone on efforts to restore nature.

“As the report notes a whole-Wales approach is needed, it is not just for government to tackle on its own,” she added.