The Welsh Government’s new Programme must go further to restore nature, and fast

James Hitchcock, Welsh Rewilding Alliance

The Welsh Government’s new Programme for Government is out, with the promise of ‘A New Ambition for Wales’.

The First Minister’s commitments assure us that climate mitigation and nature recovery will be woven into the fabric of every department, but is it ambitious in its thinking, or is it simply kicking the can down the road while the ecological crisis accelerates?

Summer 2026 was Wales’ hottest on record, with predictions of this being the new ‘normal’, but it doesn’t need to be inevitable. The new Programme includes some positive measures for addressing the climate crisis, but there are a number of glaring omissions which, if addressed, could elevate the programme from being adequate to being genuinely game-changing.

While I appreciate this is Plaid Cymru’s first time leading the Welsh Government, with many cabinet members navigating ministerial office for the first time, this cannot become an excuse for delay. We need ministers to step up and deploy their powers to create change at the speed and scale that nature demands.

Embedding environmental action across all ministerial portfolios is a vital step forward, as is establishing an independent Office to hold public authorities accountable when targets fall short. This kind of joined-up decision-making across the whole of Government is welcome. On the flip side, however, while the First Minister promised that “every portfolio has responsibility for climate change,” I worry that widespread responsibility breeds collective unaccountability.

Notably absent from the Programme is a dedicated chapter on nature and climate, and only 299 of the over 14,000 words (around 2%) in the document focus on the topic, sounding huge alarm bells for its value.

And there is a worrying lack of urgency. It seems the Government has poured all of its ambition for nature into the creation of its Climate and Nature Action Plan – stating this is its primary engine to deliver substantive nature recovery. Sadly, this will not be completed until 2028. We do need a plan and that plan has to be costed. But pushing this work out to 2028 risks stalling the urgent, landscape-scale restoration and resilience building we need right now.

Also troubling is the longer-term delivery target of 2050. That’s 24 years away – six full government cycles.

This timeframe is not only alarming but unnecessary.

We have the tools to halt and reverse biodiversity loss quickly if we create the conditions for nature to lead and properly fund the transition.

Wales should be aiming to restore 30% of its ecosystems. It has committed to doing so, along with over 190 other countries as part of its commitments to the Global Biodiversity Framework, set at the UN global biodiversity conference in 2022 (COP 15). This target is now set to be put in law: Restore 30% of Wales ecosystems. This is possible to do within 15 years if we are serious. But it will require land use change and a cultural shift in how the people of Wales see nature, which must be managed with a clear narrative from the top.

Only about 20% of the land designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest – which cover 12% of Wales – is in favourable condition. To meet the target of 30% of land for nature, we need 18% of Welsh land to come into management for nature on top of the 12% that is already protected. Setting the tone and communicating this to an electorate who may be unfamiliar with and wary of these changes is vital.

Action

What is needed is bold and ambitious action, not just rhetoric. After a summer of devastating fires and an El Niño year ahead, with flooding and storms predicted, before more heatwaves in 2027, we cannot afford to dither or stall.

We have the solutions but need to act now. Through rewilding, we can restore ecosystems to the point where nature can take care of itself. It helps reverse biodiversity loss, helps us adapt to climate change, and helps communities thrive. But it won’t happen by accident; we need the Welsh Government to go further in its Programme. The Welsh Rewilding Alliance is calling for:

A firm commitment to returning key species that rebuild ecosystem functions, including expanding beaver populations and reintroducing top predators like the white-tailed eagle.

Concrete financial and policy support within the Sustainable Farming Scheme for landscape resilience – focusing on natural flood management, wildfire mitigation, and natural grazing regimes.

The government to pioneer nature-led restoration on public land, starting with a Wilder Forests Programme.

Incentivising local communities to buy up land for nature recovery, rewilding, and climate resilience.

Developing catchment management plans that allow for natural processes to rewet our landscapes, including bringing back beavers within five years.

Ecosystem collapse

Without introducing tangible plans to meet the above, we will continue to sleepwalk into non-recoverable climate and ecosystem collapse. Currently, less than 3% of Wales’s land is classed as being in good condition for nature.

After a summer of devastating wildfires and the predicted escalation of cycles of extreme weather, what we don’t have is the luxury of time. What we need is political courage, bold investment, and an unwavering commitment to let nature take the lead – and we need it now.