A from has identified almost 3,000 species that now exist in five locations or fewer across Wales, making them highly vulnerable to habitat loss, climate change, and sudden catastrophic events. The Species in Peril report, described as the first assessment of its kind in the UK, catalogues everything from the rainbow-coloured Snowdon leaf beetle (pictured above) and the high brown fritillary butterfly to Arctic-Alpine pea mussels and woolly feather-moss.
Wales has already lost 304 species since systematic biological recording began in the 1800s, with 11 species lost since the start of the millennium alone, including the turtle dove, corncrake, and belted beauty moth. But Dr Tyler Hallman, Lecturer in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at Bangor University's School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, sees genuine cause for optimism in NRW's approach. , he said:
I think there are huge conservation success stories. The European turtle dove is extinct in Wales but, over the last few years, their population in Europe has increased greatly so who knows, that one might come back. You might see things coming back as conditions improve and the species as a whole do better. I guess that's a huge positive: there are things we can do.
The report identifies clear pathways for conservation action. Nearly half of the species in peril (47%) are found only on Sites of Special Scientific Interest, highlighting the critical importance of Wales's protected site network. Newborough Warren on Anglesey alone supports 130 of these at-risk species. Dr Hallman emphasized,
Wales' protected sites need to function as a connected network, allowing species to move and populations to recover.
Saving these species needn't be prohibitively expensive. Mannon Lewis, strategic projects lead at NRW, told the BBC that many solutions are simple and low-cost, such as adjusting grazing regimes and changing when grass is cut or hedges are trimmed. The full is available from. With the evidence now in place, the focus turns to delivering conservation action at the sites that matter most.