List of habitats of principal importance in Wales

Wales is obliged by law to maintain lists of species and habitats of principal importance for biodiversity conservation; the other countries within the UK: Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, have their own laws for this purpose.

Public bodies, including local authorities now have a legal duty to have regard to conserving biodiversity in the exercise of their normal functions.

In Wales, that obligation originally derived from section 42 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006.

Along with legally protected species, as well as statutory and non-statutory sites, knowledge of the presence of priority habitats and priority species is required if the impact of future development is to be avoided or mitigated.

By fully considering all these features in the decision-making process, a planning authority will have demonstrated that it has discharged its duty to conserve biodiversity.