Wales is not on course to meet a key 2030 biodiversity target amid concerns about dwindling funding and an overreliance on goodwill, a committee heard.
Steve Ormerod, a professor in ecology at Cardiff University, warned Wales’ is “nowhere near” a target of protecting 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030.
He said: “This is a very, very significant target. At the moment, we have about 12% of Wales’ land surface which is identified for biodiversity – less than half of that is in good condition.”
Prof Ormerod, who is deputy chair of Natural Resources Wales, said government funds are shrinking at a time when Wales needs to pick up the pace and increase scale.
“We don’t really have cash incentives to make this happen,” he said as he gave evidence to a new Senedd climate change committee inquiry on halting and reversing nature loss.
He added that Wales is relying on goodwill and teamwork to hit the “30 by 30” target.
‘Critical’
Richard Unsworth, an associate professor of biosciences at Swansea University, said studies show significant degradation of Wales’ waterways continues.
He warned: “What’s happening on the land is continuing to degrade what is happening in our oceans and with that we have significant threats to biodiversity.”
Dr Unsworth emphaised: “We need to pick up the pace in terms of actual marine management and not paper-based marine management – that is the critical thing.”
The ecologist told the committee there is a lack of recognition of how degraded Wales’ oceans are, with a Bangor University study showing fisheries have been destroyed.
Dr Unsworth stressed that agriculture, one of the biggest drivers of decline in waterways, must be a part of the conversation, saying: “We can’t hide from it.”
He also called for action to better monitor the impact of offshore wind farms on biodiversity.
‘Slipping’
Llŷr Gruffydd, who chairs the climate committee, raised concerns about a “plethora” of strategies, action plans, devolved and non-devolved bodies involved in the field.
“There’s so many different moving parts here,” he said, warning it feels overly complicated.
Janet Finch-Saudners, the Conservatives’ shadow climate change secretary, suggested the Welsh Government may need to conduct a deeper deep dive on biodiversity.
Delyth Jewell, her Plaid Cymru counterpart, focused on the “hotly anticipated” environmental governance bill, questioning whether Welsh ministers understand the urgency required.
Prof Ormerod said: “One of the key things I think we should all take away … is that biological diversity is slipping through our fingers.
“The nature of Wales and its environmental fabric has changed dramatically.”
‘Extreme’
Dr Unsworth told the committee that Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is facing extreme funding pressures with more than 250 jobs at risk.
He said: “We can create all the legislation we want but if we’re not funding the capacity of NRW as the principal delivering agent .. then we’re not going to do anything.”
The ecologist warned that marine special areas of conservation are grossly underfunded as he gave evidence to the inquiry on September 18.
Prof Ormerod said financial pressures on NRW could result in a substantial squeeze on monitoring while there is an increasing need given the 30 by 30 target.
He said: “We don’t yet fully understand what the outcomes of resource reductions in NRW will be but I think they could be significant in frontline areas such as monitoring.”
The ecologist added: “If all we are doing is monitoring the decline of nature that’s not always particularly helpful, so I think we could streamline.”
‘Underfunded’
In a second evidence session with environmental organisations, Annie Smith, head of policy at RSPB Cymru, said the Welsh Government has been quick to commit Wales to targets.
However, she said: “We’re developing frameworks, developing approaches but not necessarily seeing the actions being driven yet in the way they need to.”
Alex Phillips, policy and advocacy manager at WWF Cymru, echoed Ms Smith’s comments, calling for a focus on delivery and concrete improvements
Asked about the Welsh Government’s white paper on environmental principles, Mr Phillips raised concerns about a suggestion some headline targets could be weakened.
Chloe Wenman, policy and advocacy manager at the Marine Conservation Society, warned that the marine sector is chronically underfunded.
She said: “When you think about the speed at which things like offshore wind are being pushed forward, nature recovery is not happening at anywhere near the speed.”