Welsh Government Introduces Environment Bill Establishing Oversight Body, Biodiversity Targets

The Welsh Government has introduced the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill aimed at safeguarding Wales' natural environment and addressing climate and nature emergencies. The bill establishes the Office of Environmental Governance Wales, an independent body tasked with overseeing compliance and implementation of environmental laws by public authorities such as Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales, and local councils. It also empowers Welsh Ministers to set ambitious biodiversity targets focused on halting and reversing biodiversity decline, enhancing native species abundance, ecosystem resilience, and genetic diversity. The legislation responds to criticisms that Wales lacked an environmental oversight body similar to those in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, which have had such offices since 2021. Campaigners welcome the bill as a necessary step but urge the government to go further in tackling environmental issues, including water pollution and nature recovery, emphasizing the urgency given that one in six species in Wales is at risk of extinction. The bill also allows public challenges to organizations on environmental matters and mandates public bodies to publish nature recovery action plans, aiming to strengthen the protection and restoration of Wales' natural environment.