Priorities for Nature in Wales 2026-2030

Published: 7 January 2026

Nature is important to every one of us. We depend on nature and what it provides; clean water and air, healthy soils to produce our food, carbon storage to prevent climate change and the holding back of flood water. It is also integral to our wellbeing and health.

But nature is in crisis. Welsh wildlife has decreased on average by 20% since just 1994. One in six species are at risk of extinction in Wales, including plants and animals such as Curlew, Fen Orchid, Water Vole and Sand Lizard.

The task to reverse these losses is huge - but we do have the solutions.

From wetlands to mountain tops and coastlines, individuals, projects, charities, businesses and farmers are coming together to take action for nature. People are creating space for wildlife in their gardens and communities, and organisations like the RSPB are contributing to nature’s recovery through our reserves and projects.

But government has a key role to play in ensuring the tools and funding are in place to drive nature’s recovery at scale. The next Welsh Government will be responsible for delivering on our international commitments to take urgent action to reverse biodiversity loss and put nature on a path to recovery by 2030.

We have produced our Priorities for Nature in Wales 2026-2030 manifesto, which sets out what is needed if we are to meet our international obligations for nature recovery.

Our key asks of the next Welsh Government are:

• Set ambitious targets to restore nature 

• Ensure the best wildlife sites, on land and at sea, are well cared for 
• Make sure planning and development help nature  

• Support nature friendly farming to restore and look after nature

Nature needs ambitious action and investment from the next government if we are to respond to the nature crisis in time.

Public support for government action for nature is high. When asked in a 2025 survey* over three quarters of people said they believed that current and future governments need to take more action to tackle nature loss.

This survey also highlighted that people in Wales highly value nature and green spaces with over three quarters of people questioned saying they would like to see more nature thriving in their local green spaces. The next Welsh Government will need to scale up action and provide the mechanisms and levers to enable largescale change.

Some things are changing at this election, there will be more Members of the Senedd, different constituencies and a different voting system. You can read more about this Senedd election and how things are changing in May here: What is a Senedd election?

Over the coming months we’ll be producing more information about how you can help keep nature high on the agenda in the lead up to the election. Sign up as a RSPB Campaign champion to receive our regular campaigns email and keep in the loop about our activities ahead of the election.

Nature can’t wait.

*Survey carried out 3 - 23 March 2025 by Beaufort Research Limited. A total of 1,000 interviews were completed online, with the results being representative of the adult population (aged 16+) in Wales.