Help us keep the Gwent Levels Wild
The Gwent Levels is an irreplaceable, ancient wetland landscape. It is important for wildlife, recreation, flood management, carbon storage and food production.
Gradual changes to the landscape from centuries of humans maintaining the watercourses mean that the Gwent Levels are now home to a rich abundance of fascinating and rare wildlife such as aquatic invertebrates (watery bugs), a wide variety of birds, particularly waders and waterfowl as well as protected species like dormice, grass snake, otter and water vole.
Wetlands are critically important, but they are over-pressurised and vanishing at an alarming rate worldwide. Tragically, the Gwent Levels have suffered from multiple waves of damaging development for decades, and if this continues, we will lose them forever. Currently, they are being targeted by developers of business parks, industrial estates and power stations.
Now more than ever we need to cherish, protect and restore the fabulous wildlife of the Gwent Levels wetlands once and for all.
Our Save the Gwent Levels Again campaign so far… >
Around 6,000 people from all corners of Wales and beyond signed the petition to ‘Halt All Significant Developments on the Gwent Levels SSSI’ which we lodged with the Senedd and was debated by the Senedd’s Petitions Committee in March 2024.
On the same day, more than a hundred attended a peaceful demonstration outside the Senedd.
In May, the Petitions Committee agreed to write to the Minister for Climate Change about our concerns. It also agreed to propose a Senedd Committee inquiry into our petition request to ‘Halt All Significant Developments on the Gwent Levels SSSI’ and to review Wales’ national development framework ‘Future Wales’ in relation to this.
An Internationally Important, protected landscape under threat >
These development threats persist despite the Gwent Levels having protected status with multiple Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and being recognised by the Welsh Government for their unique biodiversity. These protections have not prevented the constant threat of development, so that is why we’re calling for changes to the Welsh planning system to strengthen the Level of protection afforded to the Gwent Levels.
The Gwent Levels is vitally important and in biodiversity terms, it is Wales’ Amazon rainforest – a haven for people and wildlife. It is home to a vast and varied array of rare and protected wildlife including breeding lapwings, water voles, otters and a unique network of waterways criss-crossing the landscape. Known locally at reens, these are teeming with watery bugs such as the King Diving Beetle and rare aquatic plants.
Decades of campaigning to protect the Gwent Levels >
Together with Wildlife Trust supporters, local campaigners and a coalition of environmental organisations, we fought off the threat of a new M4 motorway in 2019. Now, with your help, we believe we can make Welsh Government act to protect the Levels for good, by making planning policy changes to stop future destruction of this area by industrial estates, business parks and huge solar power stations.
Our campaign has the support of leading naturalists and authors such as Iolo Williams, Gillian Burke, Lizzie Daley, Mary Colwell and Julian Hoffman as well as our members, Levels farmers, Friends of the Gwent Levels (FOGL) and other impacted and concerned stakeholders.
Help us save the Gwent Levels from further fragmentation - when you sign the open letter and you can also send it to your local Senedd Member (MS) urging them to protect this landscape and to make a stand for nature now.