The nature emergency has not been a high enough priority amongst public authorities, with far more focus being given to decarbonisation, according to Audit Wales.
Many public authorities in Wales have failed to comply with key biodiversity requirements, it says in its latest report.
Audit Wales highlights various areas for improvement at a time when the Welsh Government has been considering changes to environmental law.
And it warns that there has been far less national focus on biodiversity than on decarbonisation.
In 2015, the Welsh Government’s Nature Recovery Action Plan (NRAP) recognised Wales was far from reaching national and international biodiversity goals.
Data now shows that Welsh wildlife decreased on average by 20% between 1994 and 2023, and around one in six Welsh species was at risk of extinction in 2023, says Audit Wales.
The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 aims to reverse the decline in biodiversity. Among other things, it places an enhanced biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems duty on public authorities. The Senedd has since declared a nature emergency and the Welsh Government has said it will embed its response to the climate and nature emergency in everything it does.
Audit Wales said that more than eight years since the duty came into force, it has found that nearly half of public authorities covered by its work have not complied with the requirement to both prepare and publish a biodiversity plan.
Approaches to planning vary widely, it says, with around a quarter of public authorities having never produced a biodiversity report. This is despite the Welsh Government providing reporting guidance and an optional template, it adds.
The report says that the Welsh Government has not complied with its own planning requirement, is not effectively monitoring public authorities’ compliance, and is currently unable to assess the overall impact of the duty on biodiversity decline.
Weaknesses in the Act and its guidance leave their coverage and intent open to interpretation, Audit Wales warns.
Auditor General, Adrian Crompton said:
“The duty set out in the Act ought to be a powerful statement about the need for all public authorities to take decisive action on biodiversity decline. But good intentions and examples of funding for biodiversity action are not enough.
“The Welsh Government itself needs to do more to lead by example, support improvement, and take a more active interest in the application and impact of its own legislation. It has an opportunity to do just that as it considers change to environmental law but will need to ensure this area of work gets the priority it deserves if it is to reverse nature loss for future generations.”
The report acknowledges examples of efforts to integrate biodiversity and nature ambitions with wider policies, and notes that public authorities provided positive feedback on aspects of national strategic leadership.
The Welsh Government has also provided various funding streams that support biodiversity action, it says, including around £120 million over recent years for the Local Places for Nature and Nature Networks programmes.
The report highlights various areas for improvement, adding that several of the issues have not been addressed fully since being highlighted in a 2021 evaluation.
They include uncertainty about which public authorities are covered by the duty, and the need to strengthen Welsh Government guidance and monitoring.
Audit Wales says its recommendations relate mainly to the current duty but that it recognises that the Welsh Government will need to consider its actions alongside its proposals to change environmental law.
