How we will recover nature in our communities

South East Wales

In South East Wales, partnership working will be key to achieving the ambition to halt and reverse biodiversity decline across the extraordinary Gwent landscape. In support of the 10-year Greater Gwent Nature Recovery Action plan, we will empower partners to work together to tackle the main drivers of biodiversity loss, build ecosystem resilience at a landscape and local level and increase the diversity of the species and habitats we find here.

Building on the legacy of our work as part of the Living Levels Landscape Partnership, we will also invest in the relationships we have cultivated with the local community and our partners in this area, and work together to protect, enhance and reconnect people with the natural environment in this special place.

South Wales Central

Across the South Wales Central area, we will manage our woodlands sustainably and with our local communities in mind. One third of Wales’ population borders urban woodland, providing places to explore and connect with nature, as well as trees absorbing noise and greenhouse gas emissions. We will work with local communities to maximise the benefits the Welsh Government Woodland Estate can bring. In areas like the North Cardiff Woodlands, we will take a landscape approach to how we manage the Estate and our wider recreation offer to ensure we can enhance ecosystem resilience and manage visitor pressures, whilst also bringing multiple health and well-being benefits to Cardiff’s communities.

Maximising the delivery of the sustainable management of natural resources through landscape partnerships will also be a key focus in this part of Wales. We will use our convening powers and leverage our Area Statement evidence to support new ways of working that support the development of multiple Resilient Ecological Networks (RENs), such as the Bridgend landscape partnership, to achieve multiple environmental and socio-economic benefits. This evidence will be used to connect, protect and enhance the green infrastructure that make up the urban areas across South Wales Central.

South West Wales

From Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) to our National Nature Reserves,  improving the condition of our protected areas to underpin nature recovery will be a key focus for our teams in South West Wales. Working with landowners and partners, we will pursue opportunities to develop a wider network of resilient ecosystems, concentrating on semi-natural grasslands in the area. Our work to restore ancient woodland sites and precious peatlands on the Welsh Government Woodland Estate will continue, and we will ensure land we lease to others is managed sensitively and responsibly.

Mid Wales

Work to recover nature in Mid Wales will focus on fostering the resilience of ecosystems and improving habitats across protected and designated sites. Working in partnership with the Canal and River Trust, we will protect designated plants and invertebrates within the Montgomeryshire Canal Special Area of Conservation. We will also work alongside Brecon Beacons National Park Authority and other partners to review visitor safety management responsibilities in Waterfall Country, whilst also ensuring the protection of the special characteristics of the National Park.

North East Wales

Our work with PSBs will be instrumental in how we deliver our ambitions to make communities in North East Wales more resilient to the challenges they face. Conwy and Denbighshire PSB will operate at a strategic level to influence the agendas of partners and others and will focus on a single well-being objective: a more equal place with less deprivation. The plan will seek to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of the area by making communities more resilient to the climate and nature emergencies and the rising costs of living.

Action plans designed to deliver more equal access to the countryside and coast and to enhance biodiversity and natural habitats in Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham will further benefit the health and well-being of those who live and work in North East Wales. 

Our successful partnerships will be the foundation stone of nature recovery focussed projects, such as the development of integrated catchment management in the Vale of Clwyd, where a volunteer forum and partners will come together to work on upland management. We will also work with regional partners, such as the North Wales Research and Insight Group to increase understanding of the nature and climate emergency through collaborative engagement and the sharing of knowledge and research to inform our decision-making and improve our ways of working.

North West Wales

In North West Wales, we will continue our multi-theme ‘Llifo’ approach to project development on Anglesey and the Conwy Valley, where we will work with partners to focus on commonalities between the PSB well-being objectives, the opportunity catchment priorities and our North West Area Statement. We will build on the opportunities this approach brings to enable us to collaborate more effectively, to think innovatively, to do things differently and to effect change.

We will continue to develop our understanding of what ecosystem resilience in the face of the nature emergency means for the area, using the habitat maps we have developed as a foundation for engagement with our partners as we look to continue our work to restore ecosystems in North West Wales. Wherever possible, we will initiate multi-partner projects across the area, focussing on locations which will support our aspirations to support nature’s recovery, whilst also delivering on the priorities of our partners, our Area Statement themes and PSB priorities.

Marine

Through our membership of the Wales Coasts and Seas Partnership (CaSP Cymru), we will work with a range of partners on our shared priorities to improve marine resilience in Wales. This will include improving people’s understanding of how collective and individual actions impact the sea’s health, and how the sea’s health impacts our own lives through the implementation of an Ocean Literacy Strategy.

We will work alongside our coastal communities to build capacity to address the impacts of the climate and nature emergencies, and explore innovative funding mechanisms that can support nature’s recovery and build the resilience of our seas and coastlines.

We will build on our work to improve the condition of the Marine Protected Area network in Wales which support some of the most diverse wildlife and habitats in Europe. To reduce the pressures of the climate and nature emergencies on these areas, we will deliver a diverse programme of activity which will include locating and managing wherever possible the removal of derelict vessels. We will also look to strengthen our understanding of the reasons why some key coastal habitats, such as mearl and sandbanks are in poor condition. Doing so will enable us to put plans in place to manage the restoration of these important features. We will also develop robust biosecurity plans for marine sites that will help prevent the spread of invasive non-native species around our coasts and deliver saltmarsh restoration work at Rhymney Wharf in Cardiff.