Introduction
The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 sets out the requirement for the ‘sustainable management of natural resources’ together with new ways of working to achieve this. Part 1 of the Environment Act sets out Wales' approach to planning and managing natural resources at a national and local level with a general purpose linked to statutory 'principles of sustainable management of natural resources' defined within the Act. There are 3 main constituents to Part 1 of the Environment Act:
- The State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR)- A report produced by Natural Resources Wales that gives an assessment of natural resources and how well Wales is doing to manage them in a sustainable way
- Natural Resources Policy - A policy produced by Welsh Government that sets out the priorities, risks and opportunities for managing natural resources sustainably. The policy takes into account the findings of the State of Natural Resources report
- Area Statements –A local evidence base produced by Natural Resources Wales which helps to implement the priorities, risks and opportunities identified in the National Policy and how NRW intends to address these
Environment (Wales) Act 2016
The Environment Act aims to build greater resilience into our ecosystems. Biodiversity and well-functioning ecosystems provide natural solutions that build resilience, which in turn help society create jobs, support livelihoods and human well-being, adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and contribute to sustainable development.
Part 1 of the Environment Act sets out Wales' approach to planning and managing natural resources at a national and local level with a general purpose linked to statutory 'principles of sustainable management of natural resources' defined within the Act.
Section 6 – Biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems duty
Section 6 under Part 1 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 introduced an enhanced biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems duty (the S6 duty) for public authorities in the exercise of functions in relation to Wales.
The S6 duty requires that public authorities must seek to maintain and enhance biodiversity so far as consistent with the proper exercise of their functions and in so doing promote the resilience of ecosystems.
Section 6
Section 7 - Biodiversity lists and duty to take steps to maintain and enhance biodiversity
This section replaces the duty in section 42 of the NERC Act 2006. The Welsh Ministers will publish, review and revise lists of living organisms and types of habitat in Wales, which they consider are of key significance to sustain and improve biodiversity in relation to Wales.
The Welsh Ministers must also take all reasonable steps to maintain and enhance the living organisms and types of habitat included in any list published under this section, and encourage others to take such steps.
Part 1 of the Act, including Sections 6 and 7, came into force on May 21, 2016.
Section 7 Priority species (pdf) (PDF)
Section 7 Priority habitats (pdf) (PDF)
Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act
The Well-being of Future Generations Act became law in April 2015 and is concerned with improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales.
It will make the public bodies in Wales listed in the Act think more about the long-term, work better with people and communities and each other, look to prevent problems and take a more joined-up approach.
To help public bodies achieve the same vision, the Act puts in place seven well-being goals. Linked to the goals a set of National Indicators are currently under development to help measure whether we are achieving the goals including the Resilient Wales goal.
