Biodiversity - Public Goods Scheme
Biodiversity - Public Goods Scheme
The
Climate Change, Environment and Rural
Affairs Committee agreed to undertake an inquiry on biodiversity.
Background
Natural
Resources Wales’s (NRW’s) State of Natural
Resources Report (SoNaRR)
concluded that many species in Wales are in decline and that no habitat is
truly ‘resilient’. The NGOs’ collaborative report, The State of Nature showed a decline over the
long term (1970-2013) of 57% of wild plant species, 60% of butterflies and 40%
of birds in Wales.
The
Welsh Government and other public bodies have a duty under the Environment
(Wales) Act 2016 to promote the resilience of ecosystems and maintain and
enhance biodiversity. The Welsh Government’s Natural Resource Policy
outlines the
opportunities, priorities and risks for the sustainable management of natural
resources in Wales. The Welsh Government also has a Nature Recovery Plan which is aimed at
addressing the underlying causes of biodiversity loss.
Stakeholders
have emphasised that the next significant opportunity for the Welsh Government
to restore and enhance biodiversity is through its future land management
policy, particularly the proposed Public Goods scheme outlined in the consultation
Brexit and Our Land.
Monitoring
biodiversity is an important aspect of environmental schemes in assessing their
success. The Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation
Programme
(GMEP) was commissioned by the Welsh Government to assess the performance of
Glastir. The Welsh Government has recently procured the Environment and Rural
Affairs Monitoring and Modelling Programme (ERAMMP) to ‘establish a key evidence
base informing Well-being of Future Generations indicators, the State of
Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR), the Natural Resources Policy and the
Decarbonisation Programme.’
In
this inquiry, the CCERA Committee explored biodiversity restoration in the
context of the proposed Public Goods scheme.
The
terms of reference for the inquiry
were:
- How could the Welsh
Government’s proposed Public Goods
scheme, set out in Brexit and Our Land, be applied to restore
biodiversity;
- How could the various existing Welsh Government policies and
legislation for biodiversity restoration be applied in the design and
implementation of the proposed Public Goods scheme; and
- What lessons can be
learned from the Glastir and
Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (GMEP) to ensure effective
monitoring and evaluation of schemes to support the restoration of
biodiversity. How should the new Environment
and Rural Affairs Monitoring and Modelling Programme (ERAMMP) be
designed and implemented effectively for this purpose?
Evidence
gathering
The
Committee held evidence sessions with stakeholders to inform its work on 7 February 2019
and 21 February
2019.
The
Committee received written evidence from stakeholders and these have been published.
Report
The Committee published its report, The Welsh Government’s proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme: restoring biodiversity (PDF 2MB) on 23 October 2019 and the Welsh Government responded (PDF 236KB) on 11 December 2019.
Business type: Committee Inquiry
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Status: Complete
First published: 11/12/2018
Documents
- Report on the Welsh Government's proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme: restoring biodiversity - 23 October 2019
- Welsh Government response to the Committee's report on The Welsh Government's proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme: restoring biodiversity - 4 December 2019
- Correspondence from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to the Chair - 4 December 2019 PDF 1 MB
- Correspondence from the Chair to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs - 23 October 2019 PDF 66 KB
- Correspondence from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to the Chair - 13 February 2019 PDF 1 MB
- Correspondence from the Chair, Petitions Committee - 21 February 2019 PDF 1 MB
Consultations
- Biodiversity - Public Goods Scheme (completed)