Written Statement - Launch of “A Living Wales”

I am today launching a consultation on ‘A Living Wales’, a new framework for managing the Welsh environment, countryside and seas.

The natural environment is our life support system. It provides us with food, fuel, clean air and water as well as recreational opportunities that are key to our quality of life and our economy.

Wales, like every other country in the world, has failed to meet its biodiversity targets.  ' A Living Wales'  is all about getting to the heart of why we have failed and sets out a new approach to ensure that we do better in the future.

Recent work by the United Nations has outlined the astonishing value of biodiversity and eco-systems to the global economy. For instance the EU  estimates that the loss of biodiversity is currently costing Europe around €50 billion a year  and suggests that for every pound we invest in our natural environment, we can expect a return of between £10 and £100.  

The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to putting Sustainable Development at the heart of everything it does.   'A Living Wales '  seeks to ensure a much more integrated approach to managing our eco-systems. It puts the long term value of our eco-systems and their services right at the heart of  our decision making processes and is aimed at ensuring that we treat our natural environment with the full consideration and respect it deserves.

Wales currently manages its natural  environment in ways that are specific to a given sector or focussed on protecting existing conditions. Although this approach has enjoyed some success, we  believe that  it can only achieve so much.

The  approach  set out in 'A Living Wales' is aimed at helping the Welsh Assembly Government and its partners to make the best use of Wales’ resources and will ensure that Wales’ natural assets are maintained and enhanced.

The framework will also help Wales to  cope with the challenges presented by climate change, such as increased instances of flooding and pressures on  water supplies and food security.

‘A Living Wales’  identifies a number of key steps that will help to transfer  the principles of  the framework into tangible action on the ground.

These include:

• Developing a stronger evidence base for our ecosystems so that we have a better basis for decision making.
• Ensuring that our dependence on the natural environment  and the value of ecosystems and their services is fully reflected in our decision making processes.
• Refreshing our management and regulatory approaches.
• Ensuring we have the best partnership arrangements to make the new framework a success.
• Reviewing the current roles, functions and organisation of our key delivery agencies, namely the Environment Agency Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Forestry Commission Wales, in order to ensure that they support an integrated and sustainable approach.

The consultation closes on 31 December 2010.