Neil Sachdev issued the stark message as NRW launched its latest State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR 2025) – a major assessment published under the Environment Act and designed to inform political debate ahead of the Senedd elections.
The report paints a bleak picture of Wales’ natural environment, warning that the country is “one of the most nature‑depleted in the world”, with almost one in five species now at risk of extinction. Only 40% of water bodies meet good status, and ecosystems across Wales are struggling under the combined weight of climate change, pollution, habitat loss and unsustainable land use.
NRW says the pressures are now “systemic”, built into everyday life – from how homes are heated to how food is produced, how people travel and how land is developed. While progress has been made in areas such as peatland restoration, air quality legislation and the Sustainable Farming Scheme, the report warns Wales is still consuming and degrading natural resources faster than they can be replenished.
Launching the report at Cardiff University’s Spark Innovation Campus, Neil Sachdev said Wales must now embrace major systems change.
Neil Sachdev, Chair of Natural Resources Wales, said:
“SoNaRR has shown us that the most damaging pressures on nature are not confined to environmental policy. They are built into how we heat our homes, how we travel, how we grow and consume food, how we use land, and how we invest in places. If Wales is to remain a place where people and nature thrive, we must change the systems themselves – not just manage their impacts.”
He said SoNaRR was “the diagnosis”, while a new chapter titled Bridges to the Future sets out a shared response, offering a roadmap for transforming Wales’ food, energy, transport and land systems.
The launch brought together senior figures including Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca‑Davies, Future Generations Commissioner Derek Walker and Elspeth Jones, Nature Guardian for the National Infrastructure Commission Wales.
Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, said:
“Nature is one of our most powerful allies in creating better lives for all of us. Without urgent, coordinated action across the public sector to halt and reverse the dangerous decline laid out in SoNaRR 2025, we are quite literally putting lives at risk unnecessarily.”
He warned that the consequences of failing to act would fall hardest on the most disadvantaged communities.
Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca‑Davies said:
“Protecting and enhancing nature is essential for people today, and for future generations. The people of Wales have made real progress – but we need to go further again. This report sets out how we can work together to respond, strengthening action to restore nature, tackle pollution and build resilience to climate change.”
The SoNaRR 2025 assessment concludes that Wales is still not meeting any of the four long‑term aims of sustainable natural resource management. Ecosystem resilience remains low, environmental risks are unevenly distributed across communities, and Wales’ consumption levels far exceed sustainable limits.
Neil Sachdev said the findings must act as a turning point.
Neil Sachdev added:
“This is not just a warning about our future; it is a reckoning with our present. If we act now, with urgency and shared ownership, Wales can lead – not just in ambition – but by delivering the scale of transformation the nation needs. If we don’t, the next SoNaRR will simply document deeper loss, higher costs and narrower choices.”
NRW says the decisions made in the coming months will shape Wales for decades, urging leaders across all sectors to use the evidence to drive bold, long‑term action.