Anti-racist Wales evidence report: racism relating to climate change, environment, and rural affairs
Published on 6 November, 2024.
In June 2022, the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan (ArWAP) emerged as a transformational path toward creating an anti-racist Wales by 2030. This groundbreaking plan not only defines the essence of anti-racism but also distinguishes itself as a dynamic framework rather than a static strategy. It has been developed through a process of co-production, reflecting the diverse array of stakeholders.
In its first iteration the ArWAP referenced the need for inclusion of climate change and environmental matters for action. Reports on diversity in UK workplaces consistently identify that the environment, followed by farming, fishing and forestry professions are the least diverse sectors in the UK. Furthermore, the experiences and views of ethnic minority people in Wales on ‘environmental’ issues have never been formally explored.
In this report, the Welsh Government sought to understand what information was already available on the relationship between ethnic minority people and environmental matters and where there were evidence gaps. It also gathered information directly from ethnic minority people in Wales.
The evidence presented in this report sought to:
- examine Welsh data to test whether some of the findings in other parts of the UK, (mainly England) are also true in Wales
- systematically scan the research literature to understand what previous research has concluded around ethnic minorities communities’ interactions with climate change, environment and rural affairs issues and ascertain any Welsh specific research and findings
- initiate community dialogues with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people about their views, experiences and ambitions of climate change, environment, and rural affairs matters
These 3 pieces of research are drawn together in this report, with emphasis on the insights from the community dialogues.