In 2021 the Senedd declared a ‘nature emergency’. This was in recognition of human induced declines in biodiversity. The 2019 State of Nature Report highlights that 17% of 3,902 species in Wales are threatened with extinction.
Pressures on biodiversity come from many sources, including, urbanisation, pollution, hydrological change, certain agricultural and woodland management techniques and invasive non-native species.
Biodiversity has both intrinsic value and provides benefits to humans, through ‘ecosystem services’, such as flood prevention and food production. Therefore biodiversity losses are thought to cause risks to human safety and well-being.
Most policies and legislation on biodiversity in Wales and the UK are derived from international obligations, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. Stakeholders highlight that Welsh policies and legislation such as the Nature Recovery Action Plan and the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 go some way to protecting biodiversity, however they are calling for urgent action to address the ‘nature emergency’.
Read our briefing to find out more about biodiversity, how it is being protected and what stakeholders are calling for.
Article by Matthias Noebels, Sara Moran and Katy Orford, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
Senedd Research acknowledges the parliamentary fellowship provided to Matthias Noebels by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council which enabled this Research Briefing to be completed.
