The money will be used to enhance Wales's precious natural environment and in doing so will benefit its wider economy.
It will also be used to develop new pilot projects that support the Welsh Government’s plans for managing the natural environment as set out in its natural environment consultation, 'A Living Wales'. The consultation set out an ecosystems approach aimed at ensuring that Wales has increasingly resilient and diverse environment, managed to deliver economic, social and environmental benefits for Wales.
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Speaking about the funding, the Minister said: "Wales's natural environment provides us with a wide range of vital services including food, water, timber and energy. It also helps us to regulate climate, water supply and air quality. If we want to continue to enjoy these ecosystems services in a sustainable way we need to improve our management of the natural environment.
"The funding I am announcing will be used to support activities aimed at enhancing Wales’s natural environment. This might include restoring priority habitats like native woodland, wetlands and grasslands, improving connectivity between separate protected areas and managing the impact of invasive non-native plant and animal species.
"It demonstrates our commitment to a new approach and a more holistic way of managing the natural environment."
(CD/GK)
