We know that Wales is facing a nature crisis.
💔 One in six Welsh species are threatened with extinction
💔 Wales has lost more than 90% of its curlews in the last 40 years.
💔 There has been a 20% decrease in Welsh wildlife since just 1994
Every single biodiversity indicator is going the wrong way, and even protected areas are struggling. We’re failing our natural world and future generations… but there’s a new piece of legislation in the works that could help turn things around.
The Wales Environment Bill* has the potential to be a really powerful bit of law that truly holds the Welsh Government accountable for protecting and restoring our landscapes and wildlife.
The new bill is exciting… but right now it’s not strong enough…
- It’s too vague about which areas of policy need to consider the environment – we believe that nature should be considered in all areas of policy, from health care to education, because nature affects, and is affected by, everything we do
- The bill would see a new body being set up, the Office for Environmental Governance Wales, to make sure environmental laws are being followed. However the bill doesn’t do enough to protect the independence of this body and make sure it;s funded properly.
- The bill doesn’t make clear how ordinary people can speak up for nature if they don’t think environmental law is being followed properly.
- The bill needs stronger biodiversity targets as well as short term targets to get nature back on the road to recovery right away.
The bill is being debated on November 11th. Before that date It’s really important that we let our representatives in the Senedd know that…
- We care about this Bill
- We want it to be strong and we want it to be bold
- We want to make sure it is passed into law before the May 2026 Senedd elections – this is not guaranteed which could see the bill abandoned! The bill must pass by April 2026 if it is not to fall.
The RSPB have put together a great short explainer video about the bill, take a look:
Want to have your say? Come to our letter writing party!
Unravelling legislation and putting what we want to say about it into words isn’t always easy – that’s why this October we’re throwing two letter writing parties! Join us at Railway Gardens on October 22nd where we’ll have cake, snacks, drinks, postcards and letter paper plus plenty of simple guidance on the bill to help you craft a letter to your Member of the Senedd – we’ll then gather everything up and post them off – easy! If you want to send something a little more personal we’ll have a collage station set up too so you can create your own postcard.
If you can’t make the 22nd, you’re elsewhere in Wales, or you’d prefer to send an email, join us for an online letter writing party on October 23rd instead. That one is a ‘bring your own cake’ affair, sorry!
Good to know...
- If you’re coming to the in person session then we meet in a warm and cosy room so you can be comfy while writing your letter.
- If you’ve never written to your MS before, don’t worry – we’ll be sharing as much or as little guidance as you need to write your message with confidence.
- You can write as little or as much as you like
- Not sure who your MS is? No problem, we’ll work it out together
- These sessions are aimed at adults but children are welcome to come along with you and get involved.
Read more about the bill
- You can read the draft Bill itself, and it’s explanatory notes, here.
- The Bill is currently at ‘stage 1’ – read more about what that means and what it’s journey to become law will look like.
- Read the most recent (2023) State of Nature report
- The ’30 by 30′ report illustrates how Wales is way off track to meet its 2030 biodiversity targets.
- Wales Environment Link have put together briefings on each section of the Bill together with areas for improvement
* The Bill’s proper name is the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets)(Wales) Bill… but that’s a bit of a mouthful.
