Environment (Wales) Act 2016

6Biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems dutyE+W

This section has no associated Explanatory Notes

(1)A public authority must seek to maintain and enhance biodiversity in the exercise of functions in relation to Wales, and in so doing promote the resilience of ecosystems, so far as consistent with the proper exercise of those functions.

(2)In complying with subsection (1), a public authority must take account of the resilience of ecosystems, in particular the following aspects—

(a)diversity between and within ecosystems;

(b)the connections between and within ecosystems;

(c)the scale of ecosystems;

(d)the condition of ecosystems (including their structure and functioning);

(e)the adaptability of ecosystems.

[F1(2A)In complying with subsection (1), a public authority within subsection (11) that has been designated in regulations under section 6F must take action to contribute to meeting the target in relation to which it has been designated.]

(3)Subsection (1) does not apply to—

(a)the exercise of a function by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, or

(b)the exercise of a judicial function of a court or tribunal.

(4)In complying with subsection (1)—

(a)the Welsh Ministers, the First Minister for Wales, the Counsel General to the Welsh Government, a Minister of the Crown and a government department must have regard to the United Nations Environmental Programme Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992, and

(b)any other public authority must have regard to any guidance given to it by the Welsh Ministers.

(5)In complying with subsection (1), a public authority other than a Minister of the Crown or government department must have regard to—

(a)the list published under section 7;

(b)the state of natural resources report published under section 8;

(c)any area statement published under section 11 for an area that includes all or part of an area in relation to which the authority exercises functions.

[F2(d)[F3where the public authority is one within subsection (11),] the sustainable land management report published under section 6 of the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023.]

(6)A public authority other than a Minister of the Crown or government department must prepare and publish a plan setting out what it proposes to do to comply with subsection (1).

[F4(6A)The Welsh Ministers must—

(a)when preparing their plan under subsection (6)—

(i)consult the Office of Environmental Governance Wales, and

(ii)apply the principles of sustainable management of natural resources,

(b)when preparing their plan under subsection (6), consult—

(i)such persons or bodies as the Welsh Ministers reasonably consider have an interest in matters relating to biodiversity in Wales, and

(ii)members of the public in Wales, and

(c)when they publish that plan, also publish a report summarising—

(i)the consultation that was carried out in preparing the plan, and

(ii)any representations that were received as a result of the consultation.

(6B)The plan prepared and published by the Welsh Ministers under subsection (6) must, in particular, set out—

(a)what action they propose to take to contribute to the fulfilment of the vision of the Global Biodiversity Framework, namely that “by 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people,

(b)proposals covering the areas of responsibility of each of the Welsh Ministers,

(c)what action they propose to take to ensure that the targets set in regulations under section 6B are met and when they propose to take that action,

(d)how the targets, if met, will contribute to halting and reversing the decline in biodiversity or to restoring biodiversity to resilient levels,

(e)where the standard specified under section 6B(4) in relation to a target is achieved, how they propose to maintain that standard, and

(f)what action they propose to take to comply with the duty in section 8A to promote awareness of biodiversity.

(6C)In subsection (6B)(a), the “Global Biodiversity Framework means the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity referred to in subsection (4)(a) at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in December 2022.]

(7)A public authority must, before the end of 2019 and before the end of every third year after 2019, publish a report on what it has done

[F5(a)to comply with subsection (1), and

(b)where subsection (2A) applies, to contribute to meeting the target in relation to which it has been designated].

[F6(7A)The report published by the Welsh Ministers under subsection (7) must, in particular, report on the progress being made towards meeting the targets set in regulations under section 6B and whether they are likely to be met.

(7B)As soon as reasonably practicable after publishing their report under subsection (7), the Welsh Ministers must send a copy of it to the Office of Environmental Governance Wales.

(7C)Sending a copy of the report under subsection (7B) is to be treated as a request by the Welsh Ministers to the Office of Environmental Governance Wales for advice under section 13 of the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Act 2026 (asc xx).]

(8)A public authority that has published a plan under subsection (6)—

(a)must review the plan in the light of each report that it publishes under subsection (7), and

(b)may revise the plan at any time.

(9)In this section—

“Minister of the Crown” (“Gweinidog y Goron”) has the same meaning as in the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975 (c. 26);
“public authority” (“awdurdod cyhoeddus”) means—
(a)
the Welsh Ministers;
(b)
the First Minister for Wales;
(c)
the Counsel General to the Welsh Government;
(d)
a Minister of the Crown;
(e)
a public body (including a government department, a local [F7authority [F8, a corporate joint committee] and] a local planning authority F9...) [F10, but not the Office of Environmental Governance Wales];
(f)
a person holding an office—
(i)
under the Crown,
(ii)
created or continued in existence by a public general Act of the National Assembly for Wales or of Parliament, or
(iii)
the remuneration in respect of which is paid out of money provided by the National Assembly for Wales or Parliament;
(g)
a statutory undertaker.

(10)In subsection (9)—

[F11“corporate joint committee” (“cyd-bwyllgor corfforedig”) means a corporate joint committee established by regulations made under Part 5 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1);]
“local authority” (“awdurdod lleol”) means a council of a county, county borough or community in Wales;
“local planning authority” (“awdurdod cynllunio lleol”) has the meaning given by the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (c. 8);
“statutory undertaker” (“ymgymerwr statudol”) means any of the following—
(a)
a person authorised by any enactment to carry on any railway, light railway, tramway, road transport, water transport, canal, inland navigation, dock, harbour, pier or lighthouse undertaking or any undertaking for the supply of hydraulic power;
(b)
an operator of an electronic communications code network (within the meaning of paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 17 to the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21));
(c)
an airport operator (within the meaning of the Airports Act 1986 (c. 31)) operating an airport to which Part 5 of that Act applies;
(d)
[F12a holder of a licence under section 7 or 7AA of the Gas Act 1986 (c. 44);]
(e)
a holder of a licence under section 6(1) of the Electricity Act 1989 (c. 29);
(f)
a water or sewerage undertaker;
(g)
the Civil Aviation Authority or a holder of a licence under Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Transport Act 2000 (c. 38), to the extent that the person holding the licence is carrying out activities authorised by it;
(h)
a universal service provider within the meaning of Part 3 of the Postal Services Act 2011 (c. 5);
F13...