Natural Resources Wales

 

Campaigners are raising alarms over proposed cuts to Wales’ environmental watchdog, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), warning that these reductions could significantly jeopardise the country’s efforts to protect nature and combat environmental challenges.

NRW plans to eliminate 265 positions and reduce efforts in key areas, including combating waste crime, providing climate change advice, managing heritage sites, and operating visitor centres.

One trade union claimed that the regulator could be left without “enough staff on the ground” to protect the environment.

NRW said it was making “every effort to protect areas of work that have the most impact on nature, climate and pollution”.

Some current and former NRW employees acknowledged the difficult financial situation but also felt “angry” and “excluded from planning the solution”, one said.

“We have lost a year we could have spent working to save some of Wales’ most loved services – like organising community buy-outs of our visitor centres,” they claimed, describing the situation as “a shambles”.

One worker compared the restructuring efforts to “rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic” and criticised the message the cuts sent, especially in light of the Welsh government’s declaration of both climate and nature emergencies.

“You can’t on the one hand declare an emergency and then on the other say ‘it’s alright, we’ll call the fire brigade a bit later’.”

Unison, the largest of five unions representing NRW staff, noted that employees believe the proposed cuts would not provide a long-term solution to the organisation’s challenges.

“They also have concerns about losing staff with years of experience,” said regional organiser Andrew Woodman – adding that “Unison will fight for every job”.

While NRW’s core funding from the Welsh government has remained stagnant in recent years, rising costs driven by inflation have exacerbated the situation. The organisation is projecting a £13 million shortfall in its budget by 2025-26, which could rise to over £17 million by 2026-27 if no action is taken.

To address this gap, NRW is undergoing a 45-day consultation with unions and has released documents online outlining the proposed changes. According to these documents, work related to environmental policy, such as climate change advocacy, will be scaled back.

Additionally, the organisation will no longer maintain a dedicated education and health team, and cuts are planned for managing heritage features in public woodlands, as well as for shops and cafés at visitor centres.

In terms of responding to environmental incidents, NRW will adopt a “higher tolerance of risk” and reduce the number of low-priority cases it handles.

The organisation is planning “some small reductions in enforcement including tackling waste crime”.

NRW’s environmental library in Bangor, which provides critical resources for public use and ecological monitoring, is slated for closure, prompting backlash from ecologists and a petition to keep it open.

“As a plant recorder I find this service indispensable,” explained botanist Heather Garrett.

“I can ask for a report, I can see maps and find out all sorts of things about a particular site – are there gaps in the records or rare species we can check for?

“If the library closes I think our voluntary efforts to stop the decline of nature and to restore it will be severely impacted,” she added.

Gareth Clubb, director of WWF Cymru, voiced concerns that the cuts put Welsh nature in jeopardy.

Professor Christian Dunn of the British Ecological Society echoed this sentiment, arguing that NRW needs both adequate funding and expertise to address the twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss.

Gail Davies-Walsh, CEO of Afonydd Cymru, said this focus on water pollution is a positive development amidst the cuts.

There will be environmental crime that doesn’t go detected, there will be incidents where NRW doesn’t have the capacity to deal with them,” he claimed.

“These are brutal budget cuts to important public services,” added Sam Ward, head of Climate Cymru.

NRW needed to be “well-armed” with funding and expertise if Wales was to “have a chance of combatting climate breakdown and biodiversity collapse”, said Prof Christian Dunn of the British Ecological Society.

Prys Davies, NRW’s director of corporate strategy and development, acknowledged the difficult period for the organisation and assured that support would be available to affected employees.

While NRW intends to reduce efforts in several areas, it plans to allocate more resources to addressing water pollution, which has become a significant public concern.

Afonydd Cymru’s chief executive Gail Davies-Walsh said that detail was encouraging.

“The overall budget cuts are a chance for the regulator to refocus on performing its legal duties and perhaps less on work that could be delivered more cost-effectively by partners,” she said.

“There is no doubt that this is a significant and challenging time for us all at NRW,” explained Prys Davies, NRW’s director of corporate strategy and development.

“Public funding is exceptionally tight across the whole of the UK and we are having to… critically review what we can and must continue to do, what we stop, and what we slow or do differently.”

He said bosses “fully understood the impact” on colleagues and support was available.

“They have continued to show the upmost professionalism and dedication to their roles during this challenging period,” he said.

The feedback from the consultation will be reviewed, and final proposals will be presented to NRW’s board for consideration in mid-October.

Deputy First Minister and climate change secretary Huw Irranca-Davies said he had confidence that “NRW will work through this with stakeholders and staff to come to a position where they can carry out their statutory duties”.

“The hard reality is that right across government, and right across the UK we are facing these difficult decisions that (have been) forced upon us after so many years of austerity,” he added.

 

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