Commentary on Sections The objectives
14.This Part of the Act sets out four SLM objectives and imposes a duty on the Welsh Ministers to exercise certain functions in the way they consider best contributes to achieving those objectives. The objective is to ensure that the agricultural sector in Wales produces food and other goods in a way which is sustainable, responds to the climate and nature emergencies, conserves and enhances the countryside and cultural resources and promotes public access to them, and also promotes and facilitates use of the Welsh language.
15.A feature of each of the objectives is the intention to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs – something that mirrors the “sustainable development principle” in section 5 of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. In addition, each objective is intended to complement the well-being goals in section 4 of that Act, designed to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales.
16.The SLM framework, consisting of the SLM objectives and SLM duty, has been developed through a comprehensive consultation process documented in Brexit and our Land(1), Sustainable Farming and our Land(2), and the Agriculture (Wales) Bill White Paper(3). They are also in line with international programmes and initiatives such as the UN’s “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030”, declared on 1 March 2019.