Blue spaces, including rivers, lakes, coasts and seas, are often linked to health, wellbeing, the environment and local communities. Below is a neutral summary of how the main Welsh parties’ 2026 Senedd manifestos reference blue spaces, based on published commitments at the time of writing.
This content summarises publicly available manifesto statements. Paddle Cymru does not endorse any political party or policy position.
What do the manifestos say?
Plaid Cymru
- Refers directly to access to nature, including rivers and coasts, as part of wellbeing, health and planning policy.
- Describes land and water environments as shared assets for communities.
- Includes commitments to improve water quality, addressing sewage and agricultural pollution and supporting catchment‑based management.
Welsh Labour
- Focuses primarily on environmental improvement rather than explicitly on public access to nature or blue spaces.
- Sets out measures to improve water quality, including action on sewage discharges, agricultural pollution, regulation and enforcement.
Wales Green Party
- Explicitly frames rivers, seas and coasts as commons, with emphasis on safe public access.
- Includes detailed proposals on water quality, including ending sewage pollution, restoring rivers and wetlands, and introducing legally binding targets.
Welsh Liberal Democrats
- Refer to protecting and improving access to local green and blue spaces, highlighting community wellbeing and recreation.
- Commit to tackling water pollution, strengthening enforcement and improving transparency around water quality.
Welsh Conservatives
- Do not set out specific proposals relating to access to nature or blue spaces.
- Refer to water and environmental issues mainly in the context of regulation and farming policy, with limited detail on measures to improve water quality.
Reform UK (Wales)
- Do not reference access to nature or blue spaces in their manifesto.
- Do not include specific proposals aimed at improving water quality or tackling waterway pollution.
CONTACT THE MEDIA TEAM
If you have a story that would be of interest to the Paddle Cymru team please get in touch using the online contact form linked below or get in contact using one of our social feeds.
SIGN UP TO CEUFAD MAGAZINE
Ceufad is our quarterly magazine, covering everything that's important in Welsh paddlesport.
Share Post
Mae caiacio môr yn ffordd wych o fwynhau cyfarfyddiadau â bywyd gwyllt, boed yn balod ar Sgomer, morloi oddi ar Ben y Gogarth neu ddolffiniaid ym Mae Aberteifi. Fodd bynnag, mae un creadur arall rydw i bob amser wedi bod eisiau ei weld, ac mae'n annhebygol y bydd yn digwydd ar arfordir Cymru, a dyna forfil. Mae gweld y rhain o gaiac môr yn gofyn am ychydig o gynllunio, o bosibl rhywfaint o deithio dramor a dos da o lwc. Dyna sut y cefais fy hun yn Baja, Mecsico’r llynedd, gyda bag o faw ar fy nec, pothelli ar fy nwylo a rhywfaint o'r bywyd gwyllt gorau rydw i erioed wedi'i weld. O, a gyda Pete. Roeddwn i'n cario rhywfaint o'i faw.
Sea kayaking is a great way to enjoy encounters with wildlife, whether it’s puffins on Skomer, seals off the Orme or dolphins in Cardigan Bay. However, there’s one other creature that I’ve always wanted to see, and it’s unlikely it will happen on the Welsh coastline, and that’s a whale. To see these from a sea kayak requires a bit of planning, potentially some overseas travel and a good dose of luck. Which is how I wound up in Baja, Mexico last year, with a bag of poop on my deck, blisters on my hands and some of the best wildlife I’ve ever encountered. Oh, and with Pete. It was some of his poop I was carrying.
Bob blwyddyn fel rhan o gwricwlwm addysg awyr agored yma yng Ngholeg Dewi Sant, Llandudno, mae disgyblion Blwyddyn 10 yn ymgymryd ag alldaith mewn gweithgaredd o'u dewis - fel arfer yn dewis rhwng mynydda, trecio, ogofa, dringo a fy ffefrynnau (efallai ychydig yn rhagfarnllyd), canŵio a chaiacio môr. Mae'r grwpiau'n ymgymryd â hyfforddiant ac yn helpu gyda chynllunio fel rhan o'u gwersi ysgol, cyn mynd allan ar alldaith wythnos o hyd.
