Wales Environment Link Manifesto

Transcription

1 Wales Environment Link Manifesto

2 Llais y Goedwig The voice of community woodlands in Wales Wales Environment Link Baltic House Mount Stuart Square Cardiff CF10 5FH Tel: Front cover image Tom Marshall

3 Wales Environment Link (WEL) is an active network of environment, heritage and countryside Non-Governmental Organisations. Our vision is a healthy, sustainably managed environment and countryside with safeguarded heritage, in which the people of Wales and future generations can prosper. Andy Davies Photography Contents Introduction 2 WEL Objective 1: A low carbon Wales with a thriving green economy 3 WEL Objective 2: A Wales rich in wildlife, with strong environmental 4 protection standards WEL Objective 3: A Wales which supports the health and well-being 5 of people and communities by providing exceptional access to the natural environment WEL Objective 4: A Wales which values its communities, their culture, 6 heritage and identity Contents 1

4 Wales must develop in a sustainable way. Jackie Clark 2009 Introduction There has never been a greater urgency to act on the biggest environmental issues that Wales faces: the ongoing challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and increasing strain on the essential environmental services that underpin our economy and society. To address these challenges, Wales must develop in a sustainable way. For Wales Environment Link this means a Wales that: is low carbon has a circular, green economy is rich in wildlife provides exceptional access to nature and green spaces provides every child the opportunity to learn in the natural environment values the culture, heritage and identity of its communities, landscapes and seascapes Shaping this future Wales provides our country with some great opportunities. The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 (WFG Act) is an important step towards creating a sustainable Wales, and provides the central organising principle for public policy objective setting and development. We would recommend that all political parties show how they will achieve their goals in accordance with the Act. WEL s Manifesto for sets out some of the priority actions and policies that we believe will help Wales achieve its sustainable goals. We also believe that, in order to shape the future Wales we want to see, the next Welsh Government will need to make commitments to: implement a comprehensive change programme to ensure that all decision-making and future budgets are integrated, and in line with the goals of the WFG Act. develop a robust and comprehensive monitoring programme with milestones and effective indicators of progress towards a sustainable Wales. 2 Introduction

5 A low carbon Wales with a thriving green economy. Jeff Morgan and Photolibrary Wales WEL Objective 1: A low carbon Wales with a thriving green economy Our asks support the following WFG Act Goals An innovative, productive and low carbon society which recognises the limits of the global environment and therefore uses resources efficiently and proportionately (including acting on climate change); and which develops a skilled and well-educated population in an economy which generates wealth and provides employment opportunities, allowing people to take advantage of the wealth generated through securing decent work. (Goal 1, WFG Act) A nation which, when doing anything to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales, takes account of whether doing such a thing may make a positive contribution to global well-being. (Goal 7, WFG Act) To contribute to the achievement of a prosperous, low carbon Wales we are calling on the next Welsh Government to: Publish a Green Investment Strategy that will give employers in both urban and rural sustainable sectors the five year funding certainty they need to invest in the skills of their workforce as well as business infrastructure. Prioritise smart transport solutions which, in addition to reducing traffic congestion, will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide fair access for all to centres of work. Commit to substantial emission abatement programmes, such as improving energy efficiency in homes and enhancing the carbon storage capacity of the natural environment, until the first carbon budget is set through the Environment (Wales) Act. Maximise the benefits that green and blue infrastructure brings to the Welsh economy by using the terrestrial and marine planning systems and national policies to identify, protect and create these assets. A low carbon Wales with a thriving green economy 3

6 A Wales rich in wildlife, with strong environmental protection standards. Edward Delaney WEL Objective 2: A Wales rich in wildlife, with strong environmental protection standards Our asks support the following WFG Act Goals A nation which maintains and enhances a biodiverse natural environment with healthy functioning ecosystems that support social, economic and ecological resilience and the capacity to adapt to change (for example climate change). (WFG Act Goal 2) A nation which, when doing anything to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales, takes account of whether doing such a thing may make a positive contribution to global well-being. (WFG Act Goal 7) To contribute to the achievement of a resilient Wales, with a long-term vision for the natural environment and the actions required to deliver it, we are calling for the next Welsh Government to: Commit to support the achievement of Good Environmental Status of Welsh seas through: The completion of an ecologically coherent and well managed network of marine protected areas in Welsh waters; Effective marine spatial planning of our seas based on the ecosystem approach. Improve our network of special sites for nature, securing appropriate management and making them more, bigger, better and joined 1. Take a strategic approach to funding delivery for nature, targeting priorities and identifying innovative private and public sources of finance in addition to traditional sources. Introduce new legislation to enable all Wales nationally designated landscapes to realise their potential to assist in fulfilling the ambitions of the WFG Act, in ways which safeguard and enhance their nationally important special qualities. Introduce General Binding Rules (GBRs) for environmental management, in particular for limiting diffuse pollution of freshwater sources. Ensure representation of independent environmental expertise on the Advisory Panel to the Future Generations Commissioner. 1 Lawton, J.H., Brotherton, P.N.M., Brown, V.K., Elphick, C., Fitter, A.H., Forshaw, J.,Haddow, R.W., Hilborne, S., Leafe, R.N., Mace, G.M., Southgate, M.P., Sutherland, W.J.,Tew, T.E., Varley, J., & Wynne, G.R. (2010) Making Space for Nature: a review of England s wildlife sites and ecological network 4 A Wales rich in wildlife, with strong environmental protection standards

7 A Wales which supports the health and well-being of people and communities by providing exceptional access to the natural environment. Caroline Fitton WEL Objective 3: A Wales which supports the health and well-being of people and communities by providing exceptional access to the natural environment Our asks support the following WFG Act Goals A society in which people s physical and mental well-being is maximised and in which choices and behaviours that benefit future health are understood. (WFG Act Goal 3) A society that enables people to fulfil their potential no matter what their background or circumstances (including their socio economic background and circumstances). (WFG Act Goal 4) To contribute to the achievement of a Wales in which people are healthy and able to fulfil their potential no matter what their background or circumstances, we are calling for the next Welsh Government to: Provide support for more woods and trees where people live, so that every city, town and village in Wales benefits from native trees and fruit trees in their area. Improve people s access to the countryside and connection with nature by safeguarding rural tranquillity and ensuring everyone has access to natural green space and wildlife within a short walk of where they live. Make outdoor learning and care for the natural environment a required part of the school curriculum. A Wales which supports the health and well-being of people and communities by providing exceptional access to the natural environment 5

8 National Trust Images/John Millar A Wales which values its communities, their culture, heritage and identity. WEL Objective 4: A Wales which values its communities, their culture, heritage and identity Our asks support the following WFG Act Goals Attractive, viable, safe and well-connected communities. (WFG Act Goal 5) A society that promotes and protects culture, heritage and the Welsh language, and which encourages people to participate in the arts, and sports and recreation. (WFG Act Goal 6) To contribute to the achievement of a Wales which values its communities, their culture, heritage and identity, we are calling on the Welsh Government to: Support local democracy by introducing a third party right of appeal into the development management process Require sustainable place-based policy approaches to be the distinctive focus of a national Landscape Vision for Wales, and thereafter reflected in all Welsh Government spatial policies. 6 A Wales which values its communities, their culture, heritage and identity