Hannah Blythyn, Minister for Environment
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
Our consultation on Taking Forward Wales’ Sustainable Management of Natural Resources ran from the 21 June to the 30 September. The purpose of the consultation was to consult on legislative proposals to manage our natural resources more sustainably and support the delivery of Part 1 of the Environment (Wales) Act.
We received in excess of 16,000 responses to the consultation, which highlights how engaged people are in this issue. I wish to thank all who have taken the time to contribute to the consultation process, which has given us a wealth of information from a wide variety of responses from both organisations and individuals.
The responses to the consultation are key to informing our next steps and my officials are working on the process of analysing and considering them all. For some aspects of the consultation, this includes the consideration of differing views, in particular, in relation to some of the proposals related to access to the outdoors and smarter regulation. It is, therefore, important this process is undertaken thoroughly.
Given significant challenges faced in relation to EU exit, a key aspect of our analysis is to identify proposals that can help to support our readiness or help mitigate associated risks. The analysis is, therefore, also important in informing our wider approach following the UK’s exit from the EU.
Due to the large volume of responses, our aim is to publish the summary report early in the New Year. In the meantime, our wider engagement continues, in particular, through the Ministerial Brexit Roundtable group and individual sector working groups.
https://consultations.gov.wales/consultations/taking-forward-wales-sustainable-management-natural-resources