PROTECTING the Gwent Levels is an important step in fighting climate change - the "defining issue of our time".

That is according to Newport East MS John Griffiths, commenting on a statement given by Julie James, minister for climate change.

Ms James said that, following the decision not to proceed with the M4 relief road and the removal of the route corridor protection - meaning planning applications can be lodged along what would have been the new stretch of motorway's route - work was under way to enable the better protection and management of the Gwent Levels through which the road was originally planned to pass.

"The Gwent Levels are nationally important for their biodiversity, designated by a series of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI’s) for their network of ditches or reens, fen and reed bed habitats and for a number of priority species," she said.

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"Over the years the location of the Gwent Levels has also made them vulnerable to encroachment by built development and infrastructure, whilst pollution of air, water and soils coupled with scrub invasion along many of its reens has been eroding away this unique interest.

"I am keen to ensure that areas like the Gwent Levels are better protected and managed for the future. This will require additional action to maintain and enhance biodiversity and build resilient ecosystems and some difficult choices around the location of renewable energy projects which are also drawn to the flat, coastal geography of the levels."

On the back of the decision on the M4 in 2019, the Welsh Government convened a Gwent Levels Working Group, chaired Mr Griffiths, to explore how the levels could be better protected and managed.

The group includes representation from the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales, local government, environmental NGO’s and other stakeholders. It has met three times and a Strategic Action Plan is reportedly in the works.

Key priorities include:

• Ensuring the work the Living Levels Partnership is currently doing is continued. With its funding due to end in March 2022, the Living Levels Partnership have now appointed a consultant to help the partners plan a successor to the project

• Additional planning guidance across the three local authorities involved to better enable the right developments in the right place and to avoid further unacceptable biodiversity and landscape impacts

• To renew and increase the coverage of Land Management Agreements which are a key tool to enable land owners and managers to carry out important habitat management work

Ms James said: "Restoring nature and mitigating the impact of climate change are top priorities for this government. "We demonstrated this by our decision on the M4 Relief Road and will continue to do so."

Mr Griffiths welcomed the announcement of safeguarding of the Levels as a key priority.

"The Climate Emergency is the defining issue of our times," he said.

"It’s great to know that Welsh Government see protection of the Levels as part of a wider response to the climate change and nature emergencies here in Wales.”