Biodiversity Strategy 2022

The strategy enables us to continue delivering our core functions whilst supporting our environmental regulator – Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Welsh Government to address the biodiversity crisis we face.

We found out more from our Director of Environment, Tony Harrington, about the strategy and what it means…

Historically, we at Welsh Water have tended to follow the regulatory agenda and accompanying funding, and improve the performance of our assets to meet specific, often water quality orientated standards. By improving water quality, and in many cases transforming the quality of local rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters, we have also improved aquatic biodiversity and the ecology of these waters. When compared to our investments for water quality, and more latterly our carbon footprint, projects to specifically improve biodiversity, whether terrestrial or aquatic have been comparatively few though.

This focus is set to change with the launch of our biodiversity strategy, which builds on our successful catchment work focused at water quality improvements in our upland drinking water catchments. It recognises that by improving and restoring terrestrial and aquatic habitats we can and will also make improvements to water quality, lock up carbon, mitigate flooding risks, and improve the wellbeing of our customers for generations to come.

Our biodiversity strategy sets out our ambitions, objectives, and action plan to maintain and enhance biodiversity and ecological resilience across our operational assets and landholdings, within the fulfilment of our functions. The strategy enables the business to continue delivering its core functions whilst supporting our environmental regulator – Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Welsh Government to address the biodiversity crisis we face. In so doing we will help to safeguard our environment for future generations to come, and hopefully meet the expectations of customers.

Our strategic objectives to achieve this, as already supported by our biodiversity plan, focus on the following areas:

1. Restore habitats and look after the protected sites in our ownership
2. Work in partnership with our regulators and stakeholders and promote research opportunities
3. Improve the management of invasive non-native species (INNS)
4. Develop and engage our colleagues as ambassadors and work better to understand our customers’ expectations
5. Maintain and enhance biodiversity at our operational assets and landholdings

Our biodiversity mission – to maintain and enhance biodiversity within the fulfilment of our functions for the wellbeing of current and future generations - links directly to our duty in Section 6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016. This also requires us to produce and publish a cooperate biodiversity action plan and report progress every 3 years. Our first Biodiversity plan was published in 2017 and refreshed in 2020. Our latest update plan will be published in 2023.

By delivering this mission we will support and meet our legislative requirements relating to biodiversity and ecology, and so help move our business to a sustainable footing. The strategy aims to deliver performance improvements in the short term, medium term (2030), and ensure our plans remain aligned with the longer-term objectives of our 2050 vision and beyond.

I hope this and other actions we are taking as a business will broaden the partnership working we currently enjoy, particularly with respect to our biodiversity enhancements. I am certain that we should be able to deliver more by working as team Wales, and very much look forward to playing our role to reverse the current crisis we have with regards to biodiversity for both existing and future customers.

Tony Harrington

Director of Environment