The Sustainability Appraisal, Strategic Environmental Assessment (often called SA/SEA), and Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) are tests of the Local Development Plan (or Strategic Development Plan). They look at the effects of the plan on the environment, social, economic and cultural well-being, as well as the use of the Welsh language. The SA/SEA and HRA process runs alongside the Local Development Plan process, and you can comment on the SA/SEA and HRA themselves.

A thriving ecosystem packed with rare plants and scarce species; a year-round refuge for otters to feed and play; and, in summer, a bustling insect highway, alive with bees, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, the Montgomery Canal is one of the best canals for nature in the UK; But The Monty is under threat.

Wildlife Trusts Wales are thankful for the support of Natural Resources Wales to undertake work that fits with both organisational objectives. Both organisations have long aspired to the same aims of achieving a healthy and diverse environment where there are ample opportunities for people to enjoy it. We face huge environmental and economic challenges in these forthcoming years, and so the ability for our organisations to work together, share resources, and innovate becomes even more vital.

In October 2024, global governments will be coming together in Colombia to discuss the nature emergency. The conference, known as COP16, will review how well each country is doing against targets set in 2022 (at COP15 in Canada) to bring about nature's recovery by 2030.

With nature still in decline in Wales and in some cases going backwards on the targets set, Wildlife Trusts Wales
share what the Welsh Government needs to do to meet global targets and lead on the world stage.

For over a decade, The Wildlife Trusts have campaigned with other environmental organisations in the UK for new laws to provide better protection for marine habitats and wildlife. As a result, the ground-breaking Marine and Coastal Access Act (Marine Act) was introduced in November 2009, providing UK Government with the tools needed to revolutionise the management of our marine environment. Wildlife Trusts Wales are calling for the Marine Act to be effectively implemented in Wales, and the opportunities provided by the Act seized to ensure real benefits for biodiversity around the Welsh coast.