WIREDGOV

But Environment, Sustainability and Housing Minister, Jane Davidson, says much more needs to be done across the board, for example in terms of carbon emissions and protecting biodiversity, to meet the Environment Strategy’s vision for the nation’s environment.

Speaking at the first ever conference of Natur, the new Welsh Institute of Countryside and Conservation Management, Ms Davidson today (Tuesday, 4 March) revealed the progress being made on their Environment Strategy and Action Plan and outlined plans for the second Action Plan.

She also emphasised the important role that green spaces in urban areas will play in this.

The Welsh Assembly Government’s Environment Strategy and Action Plan, launched in May 2006, sets out a vision for an environment, in 20 years’ time, which is thriving and contributing to the economic,  social and health wellbeing and health of everyone in Wales.

The progress report shows improvement on a number of environmental measures, including for example:

• The percentage of municipal waste that has been recycled or composted has increased from 7.0% to 25.9% between 2001 and 2006;
• The percentage of drinking water supplies that fail to meet quality standards continues to decrease(from 0.35% to 0.06%) since monitoring began in 1991;
• The quality of bathing waters has improved dramatically since 1992 when only 70% reached the mandatory standards, compared to 99% in 2006(100% in 2005);
• There was a 60% reduction in emissions of sulphur dioxide from 1995 to 2003, and 30% reduction in nitrogen oxides emissions over the same period.

The One Wales document commits the Welsh Assembly to a 3% reduction in carbon emissions, and an ambitious agenda on waste, energy and local environmental quality. The Minister explained that more work was needed to protect and enhance the environment for Wales

She said:

We are going in the right direction in a number of areas but we still have a long way to go: including our urgent need to reduce carbon emissions in Wales, and seeing real improvement to the quality of our valuable habitats and protecting our species and ecosystems.

We need to recognise the Strategy and Action Plan as setting a direction for all, where outcomes will provide benefits for all sectors and groups within Wales.

Work is currently underway to produce a second Action Plan, which will be more strategic, focusing on a small number of actions and cover the next three years.  Biodiversity and countryside issues will be key to this.

During her speech, the Minister also stressed the importance of protecting biodiversity as the first line of defence in the battle against climate change and in particular the role of green spaces in urban areas.

She explained:

A robust natural environment will reward us by providing many ecosystem services in the face of climate change: flood defence, reducing soil erosion, buffering climatic extremes around settlements and so on.

With the increased likelihood of flash flooding from storms we need to give our cities more chance to absorb the rainwater before it becomes a damaging flood downstream. Green spaces also provide areas of respite from the heat, and reduce the amount of air conditioning required - which in turn reduces the demand for electrical power and the further production of greenhouse gasses.

We want to enhance the lives of the people of Wales by enabling them to appreciate how wildlife can be found even – and perhaps more importantly - in urban areas. It will influence the attitude that adults and, very importantly, children will adopt towards the natural world both now and in the future.

Notes

The progress report and the Environment Strategy can be found at:

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/environmentcountryside/epq/Envstratforwales/about_the_strategy/?lang=en

The first NATUR Conference, “Urban and post-industrial Wales: connecting people and nature” will take place on the 4th – 5th of March, 2008 at the Future Inn Cardiff.

Over 100 delegates from a wide range of organisations across Wales and the UK will attend.

The focus of the conference will be on urban and post-industrial areas and the connections between people and nature

NATUR is the new Welsh Institute of Countryside and Conservation Management. NATUR will be the recognised professional institute for the countryside management and conservation field. NATUR exists to stimulate and grow the required skills amongst countryside and conservation professionals within a Welsh context.

More information on the conference is available at: http://www.natur.eu.com