The Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee of the Senedd has launched a consultation on the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill as part of its Stage 1 scrutiny. The Bill was introduced by the Welsh Government on 2 June. The Committee has helpfully set out the key purposes of the Bill, which is intended to:

• Establish certain environmental principles and an environmental objective. It will require the Welsh Ministers, Natural Resources Wales and certain other public authorities, when carrying out environmental assessment under the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes (Wales) Regulations 2004 (or any corresponding provision replacing those Regulations), to apply these principles and to integrate environmental protection.
• Establish an independent environmental governance body, the Office of Environmental Governance Wales (“the OEGW”), to provide strategic oversight of requirements on public authorities to: comply with environmental law; make effective environmental law; implement / apply environmental law effectively; and to hold those public authorities to account, similarly to England’s Office for Environmental Protection established by the Environment Act 2021.
• Amend the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 to establish a biodiversity target setting framework aimed at halting and reversing the decline in biodiversity in Wales, as well as imposing a duty on the Welsh Ministers to promote awareness in Wales of the importance of, and the threats to, biodiversity.

Launching the Bill in the Senedd the Deputy First Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies MS, said the Bill would ‘play a crucial role’ in safeguarding Wales’s natural environment.

However, concerns have been raised as to how the Bill might interact with the forthcoming Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS). Shadow Rural Affairs Minister, Sam Kurtz MS, sought assurances from the Minister that “any new measures are both fair and workable for Welsh farmers”. He went on to say that “there is a risk that it could serve as a back door to Sustainable Farming Scheme style (SFS) obligations, even for those who choose not to take part in the SFS. While the SFS is voluntary, this Bill introduces legally binding biodiversity targets. The key question is will these targets apply to all land managers regardless of whether they’re part of the SFS." The Minister acknowledged that these targets will be binding.

The Countryside Alliance is looking closely at the Bill and will be responding to the consultation which closes on 30 July 2025 and can be found here. The Senedd has also produced a useful summary brief of the Bill here.