HAVE YOUR SAY ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING TO WILDLIFE IN WALES
NEWS & YOUR VIEWS - let us know what you think
14 March 2025 More bad news about Welsh rivers
We all know about phosphates - think Wye and Usk - but now it seems more of our SAC (Special Areas of Conservation) rivers are in trouble.
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In north west Wales the Afon Eden and Gwyrfai have now missed the phosphate target according to NRW. These two lovely small rivers join the Teifi, Cleddau, Dee, Usk and the Wye on this sad list.
This is a significant deterioration since the last assessment in 2021and puts water quality and even more wildlife at risk.
Our rivers should be improving not worsening - does it affect you and do you feel that there is anything we can all do to help? Let us know​
Afon Eden
12 March 2025 Problems at Natural Resources Wales
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The chair of NRW told a Senedd committee that they have a multi million pound funding gap and are "finding it really tough".
​This is the body set up to protect our "natural resources" and they now have to repay a £19m HMRC tax bill paid on their behalf by the Welsh government. Funding will be reduced over a decade to repay the money! This was caused by how NRW hired specialist contractos.
How can something like this happen when right now is when more should be done to protect the environment, biodivesity, our dwindling wildlife and everyone's enjoyment of the countryside.
Taken from a Senedd Report -
"Wales lacks plan to tackle scale of nature loss" - this was a recent headline on the BBC news feed!
The Senedd cross-party environment committee warned that ministers lacked a "plan, action and investment" to reverse worrying declines in wildlife.
The report concluded that current legislation designed to protect the environment had not been delivered as intended with biodiversity still in decline.
Ministers are set to unveil a long-awaited Nature Bill later this year and in 2021the government said this would include specific targets for helping species and
ecosystems to recover - however, more detailed work on biodiversity targets is now likely to take a further four years, meaning they wouldn't be in place untilat least 2029​
Do you think this is acceptable, should more be done to help mitigate nature loss?
Afonydd Cymru is the umbrella organisation for the Welsh Rivers Trusts
Here are some of their concerns about our rivers
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Nearly every SAC river in Wales is failing its conservation objectives.
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All of our SAC rivers are in unfavourable condition status.
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In November 2022 we challenged NRW that we do not believe that Core Management Plans are fit for purpose
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We do not believe NRW currently has actions identified and in place to halt the decline of our rivers
We certainly have concerns about our local rivers - the noticable decline in species and biodiversity, bank erosion and, of course, plastic and pollution.
Is there any good news out there or more doom and gloom?
Let us know
Farmers in Wales to set aside 10% of land for biodiversity and 10% for woodland - remember that?
In November 2024 the Sustainable Farming Scheme changed to say that farmers will no longer be asked to have a minimum of 10% tree cover on their land.
Both Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Wildlife Trusts seem to be onside with this (albeit it with some reservations) but in our opinion, should they have done more?
Hopefully, some farmers will go beyond this and that could prove critical to help restore wildlife, nature and biodiverity
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Is 10% of tree cover on farms a good idea or should it be more perhaps?