Subject the Royal Assent, Wales now has the Environment (Wales) Act to tackle climate change with a target of at least an 80% reduction inj emissions by 2050.  Natural Resources Minister Carl Sargeant says the Act will ensure that the sustainable managementof our natural resources will be a core consideration in all decision-taking.  The eco-system approach of the UN convention on Biological Diversity is now in our legislation, probably the first in the EU to do so.  The Act also enables action to be taken to achieve higher levels of recycling business waste, food waste treatment and energy recovery.  More at http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/consmanagement/natural-resources-management/environment-bill/?lang=en

The first Wales-only legislation to improve the protection and management of the country’s historic environment has also been passed by the National Assembly for Wales. When it becomes law the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill will introduce new measures to protect Wales’ historic environment. It will make it more difficult for individuals who damage protected monuments to escape prosecution by pleading ignorance of a monument’s status or location. It will also introduce new powers to take urgent action to stop unauthorised work to historic sites and to stop historic buildings from falling into disrepair. The legislation will allow the development of a system of preservation notices and will give local authorities new ways to recover their costs when they have to take direct action.  More at http://gov.wales/newsroom/cultureandsport/2016/160209-Bill-to-make-history/?lang=en