CPRW (Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales)

Rural Wales faces distinctive environmental challenges — agricultural intensification, afforestation pressures, renewable energy development, tourism impacts — that require governance structures attuned to Welsh landscapes and communities. CPRW has advocated for using and strengthening devolved powers to protect rural Wales.

CPRW's advocacy for a 'Nature Positive' Wales through strengthened devolved environmental governance connects rural protection to the constitutional debate. The organisation argues that the Senedd's environmental framework — including the unique Well-being of Future Generations Act and the Environment (Wales) Act — provides a stronger basis for rural protection than the UK-wide framework applying in England. By calling for these devolved powers to be strengthened rather than weakened, CPRW positions itself as a defender of both the Welsh countryside and the devolution settlement that governs it. This is particularly significant in rural areas where anti-devolution sentiment can be strong (particularly in the anglicised border regions): CPRW demonstrates that devolved governance delivers tangible benefits for rural communities through environmental protections that wouldn't exist without the Senedd.