Farmers’ Union of Wales responds to introduction of Environment Bill to the Senedd
The Farmers’ Union of Wales has responded following the introduction of The Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill to the Senedd on Monday 2 June.
The Bill seeks to establish a framework for environmental governance in Wales, embedding environmental protection across all areas of policymaking.
Amongst the key purposes of the Bill, there will be a requirement for Welsh Ministers and NRW to apply the principles, and to integrate environmental protection when making policy.
The Bill also looks to establish an independent environmental governance body, the Office of Environmental Governance Wales (“the OEGW”) to provide strategic oversight of requirements on public authorities to comply with environmental law; make effective environmental law; implement / apply environmental law effectively; and to hold those public authorities to account, in a similar way to the Office for Environmental Protection established by the Environment Act 2021.
The Bill would also amend the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 to establish a biodiversity target setting framework aimed at halting and reversing the decline in biodiversity in Wales, as well as imposing a duty on the Welsh Ministers to promote awareness in Wales of the importance of, and the threats to, biodiversity.
Commenting, FUW Policy Officer, Teleri Fielden said: “Whilst the Environment Bill serves largely to strengthen the governance, compliance and regulation of the ‘regulators’ themselves (i.e. NRW and the Welsh Ministers), it is tied into other overarching ambitions around tackling climate change and reversing biodiversity loss. The FUW would welcome the ability to hold NRW and other bodies to account on their own management in this respect.
"Furthermore, as Welsh farmers manage nearly 90% of the land in Wales, meeting statutory biodiversity targets could oblige the Welsh Government to further support and fairly fund farmers for the land and habitat management carried out by farmers. However, as we have seen with the agricultural pollution regulations, the FUW must be robust in ensuring these targets are not expected to be met via an increased regulatory burden for farmers, particularly in light of imported food produced to far lower environmental standards. The lack of consultation the Union experienced during the Welsh Government’s Biodiversity Deep Dive does create cause for concern.
"As the Bill progresses through the Senedd's stages of scrutiny, the FUW will also be seeking clarity on how these principles will align with, or undermine, the national goals set out in the Agriculture (Wales) Act and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act. It is essential that all national goals are considered on an equal basis and that those relating to the environment are not prioritised over other sustainability factors.”
To read more about the bill, visit the Senedd website.
(Link for final sentence: https://business.senedd.wales/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=46004 )
