Written question WQ100229
- Asked by
- Iain McIntoshReform
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 8 days
Question
What assessment has the Cabinet Minister made of the impact of Welsh Government agricultural and environmental policies on grazing levels, vegetation management and the maintenance of firebreaks on uplands in light of recent wildfires, and what consideration has been given to reviewing these policies?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability (Llyr Gruffydd)
Recent wildfires have highlighted the importance of effective land management in building resilience to wildfire risk across Wales' uplands. This includes the potential for appropriate grazing to help reduce the accumulation of combustible vegetation and therefore lower wildfire risk. The maintenance of vegetation through active land management can also support the effectiveness of natural and managed firebreaks.
Welsh Government agricultural and environmental policies are designed to support the sustainable management of land while balancing a range of objectives, including biodiversity enhancement, climate resilience and food production. We continue to engage with farmers, land managers and other stakeholders to understand how these policies operate in practice and how they can best support the management of wildfire risk in the future.
The First Minister will convene a wildfire summit later this year to consider the actions needed to reduce wildfire risk in the short, medium and long term. This will include the role that appropriate land management in the uplands should play and will include lessons learned from the recent wildfires.