Mid and West Wales AM Joyce Watson led a World Environment Day National Assembly for Wales debate on the topic of ‘rewilding’.

Rewilded land is restored to its natural uncultivated state, often with the reintroduction of wild animals.

A new £3.4m project to rewild a large area of north Ceredigion and the Dyfi Valley – Summit to Sea – has been slammed by Plaid Cymru politicians and farming leaders.

However, Mrs Watson argued the project is a vital response to climate change and biodiversity decline.

She said: “Today is World Environment Day, and this year especially it feels like it comes at an important moment.

“We’ve seen the Extinction Rebellion protest and school strikes inspired by Greta Thunberg.

“Hundreds of young people demonstrated outside this Assembly in February as part of the global youth strike for climate movement.

“At the same time, people have been watching David Attenborough’s new BBC series on climate change and demanding political action across Europe.

“Something momentous seems to be happening.

“The Welsh Government is at the vanguard. It has declared a climate emergency."

She added: “Rewilding is a hot topic, and a controversial one. It tends to grab headlines when carnivores are reintroduced, like bears and wolves.

“Here in Wales, the Wildlife Trusts are leading the Welsh beaver project, which is investigating the feasibility of bringing back wild beavers along the River Cowyn and Nant Cennin, Carmarthenshire. And the Vincent Wildlife Trust has identified mid Wales as having the best habitats for the wildcat.

“According to a new report by Rewilding Britain, as much as a quarter of the UK’s land could be restored to nature without a consequential fall in food production or farm incomes. And the group is calling for billions of pounds in farm subsidies to be spent on creating native woodlands and meadows, and on protecting peat bogs and salt marshes.

“As well as helping wildlife, they claim that the plan could cut our country’s carbon emissions to zero."

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