The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 defines Sustainable Development in Wales as: “The process of improving the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales by taking action, in accordance with five sustainable development principles (Long Term, Preventive, Integration, Collaboration, Involvement.), aimed at achieving the seven well-being goals.” Each public body must set and publish well-being objectives. A summary of the act can be found here. A video of the act can be viewed here.
You can download The Wellbeing of Wales Report 2019 here.
The act outlines the roles and responsibilities of The Auditor General and the Future Generations Commissioner. The Auditor General for Wales has begun to examine the ways in which organizations are making changes towards applying the Wales SD Principle and the 5 ways of working, and how they are working to involve citizens and stakeholders in delivering well-being.
The general duties of the Future Generations Commissioner are to, “Promote the sustainable development principle, in particular to act as a guardian of the ability of future generations to meet their needs and encourage public bodies to take greater account of the long-term impact of the things they do.” And to “Monitor and assess the extent to which well-being objectives set by public bodies are being met.”
You can read the Welsh National Review of Progress towards the 2030 SDG Goals here.
Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, How Wales is leading the way on intergenerational justice: One Young World 2019
Compiled by James O’Donovan of the Cork Environmental Forum
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