English: I'm pleased to say that conservation efforts that were led by Natural Resources Wales and supported by Red Squirrels Trust Wales have seen great success in recent years. Through careful forest management and by the releasing of captive-bred red squirrels into the area to bolster the indigenous population, we've seen a slow and steady recovery in the numbers of reds in the area. This work has been helped along by the Clocaenog Red Squirrels Trust, of which I must declare my membership. It has forged a strong relationship and partnership with NRW and the Red Squirrels Trust Wales in order to turn the tide on the fortunes of these wonderful animals. It is these strong partnerships between conservation groups, Government agencies and volunteers that have set such a strong blueprint for future conservation efforts. I want to thank the many volunteers that I've met whilst visiting the Clocaenog forest, including Chris Bamber, the chair of the Clocaenog Red Squirrels Trust, Dave Wilson and Vic Paine. Their conservation efforts have made a huge difference. And, of course, conservation is not confined to Anglesey and it's not confined to Denbighshire. They're also under way in the Tywi forest in mid Wales. Around 300 red squirrels now call the forest their home, thanks to the efforts of the Red Squirrels United project - a three-year conservation programme funded by the heritage lottery fund. So much work has been done to conserve our red squirrel population, but, of course, we're very far from finished. The future of red squirrel conservation has the potential to be bright and bold - indeed, bushy-tailed and bright-eyed as well. In north Wales, the Magical Mammals project is just about to begin. This is a five-year project, which is being developed to bring together NRW, Clocaenog Red Squirrels Trust and Red Squirrels Trust Wales to form a leading conservation effort in and around my own constituency. But these conservation efforts are not just confined to forests; the work is going on in other places too. As the red squirrel champion and a proud patron and life member of the Welsh Mountain Zoo, I'm incredibly proud of the red squirrel breeding programme that is based in Colwyn Bay. In 1989, the zoo embarked upon its longest running conservation project, which, to this day, is dedicated to the conservation of red squirrels across the British isles. And by working on a UK-wide basis, that breeding programme has led vital research into wildlife reintroduction and the impact of squirrelpox. Our national zoo took a leading and early role in the reintroduction of an iconic part of Welsh wildlife on Anglesey and in Clocaenog, and I want to take this time to pay tribute to the zoo for all of the conservation work that it has done with red squirrels, and, indeed, other species, because there is no doubt that, without our national zoo, our wildlife would be less diverse and less rich than it actually is. As well as the breeding programmes that take place in captivity, other methods of conservation have also been successful. From 2015 to 2017, the Vincent Wildlife Trust released over 50 pine martens near Devil's Bridge in Ceredigion. As a natural predator of the grey squirrel, the introduction of the pine martens has helped to keep the population of greys back and in check. It's this type of holistic conservation effort that we need to embrace if the red squirrel population across Wales and the rest of the UK is to recover further. In addition to the threat from grey squirrels, tree felling also poses a significant long-term threat to our furry friends. As things stand, red squirrels are thankfully afforded a number of legal protections. It's illegal in law to deliberately kill or cause injury to a red squirrel, it's illegal to interfere or obstruct squirrel nests that are actively being used, and, of course, it's illegal to disturb a squirrel while it's in its nest. And while these protections are very welcome, they're not enough, because while the law does protect individual trees inhabited by squirrels from being felled, it does not protect the surrounding habitat, which, of course, is just as important for the long-term survival of the species. Forest habitat managements, at their very core, need to be at the heart of this conservation effort, and as much as NRW may want to protect our wildlife, I'm afraid that, at the moment, they simply do not have sufficient powers to be able to do so. As things stand, the only reason that NRW can reject a felling licence is for poor forest management practice. The law does not allow NRW to refuse a licence, even if that licence will knowingly cause significant harm to the natural habitat of red squirrels. And I know, Minister, that this is something that we have corresponded on in the past in relation to these current arrangements. I do regard them as wrong, and I don't think that they reflect the value that people across Wales put on our wildlife, and, in particular, on the red squirrel. So, I would urge you, and your Welsh Government colleagues, to introduce a different model of licensing, which would allow NRW to be able to refuse felling licenses that have an unacceptable adverse impact on wildlife habitat. This is the case already in Scotland, and I think that that's a model that we ought to adopt. Dirprwy Lywydd, the plight of the red squirrel, and other species in similar situations, has flown under the radar for too long. Without the appropriate action to protect our wildlife here in Wales, we risk causing irreparable damage to our natural heritage. Here in Wales, we've been blessed to inherit some wonderful countryside and some marvellous wildlife, and we owe it to future generations to pass that abundant thing that we've inherited on in better shape than we found it. In the words of a wonderful Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, 'No generation has a freehold on this earth. All we have is a life tenancy - with a full repairing lease.' And I want to encourage all Members of the Senedd, and our Welsh Government, to live up to that life tenancy. It's our duty to safeguard our environment and to support the plight of the red squirrel and other iconic Welsh wildlife. Thank you.
Welsh: Rwy'n falch o ddweud bod ymdrechion cadwraeth a arweiniwyd gan Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru ac a gefnogwyd gan Ymddiriedolaeth Gwiwerod Coch Cymru wedi gweld llwyddiant mawr yn ystod y blynyddoedd diwethaf. Drwy reoli coedwigoedd yn ofalus a thrwy ryddhau gwiwerod coch wedi'u bridio mewn caethiwed i'r ardal i gryfhau'r boblogaeth frodorol, rydym wedi gweld adferiad araf a chyson yn nifer y gwiwerod coch yn yr ardal. Mae Ymddiriedolaeth Gwiwerod Coch Clocaenog wedi helpu'r gwaith hwn, ac mae'n rhaid i mi ddatgan fy aelodaeth o'r ymddiriedolaeth honno. Mae wedi meithrin perthynas a phartneriaeth gref gyda CNC ac Ymddiriedolaeth Gwiwerod Coch Cymru er mwyn troi'r llanw ar ffawd yr anifeiliaid bendigedig hyn. Y partneriaethau cryf hyn rhwng grwpiau cadwraeth, asiantaethau'r Llywodraeth a gwirfoddolwyr sydd wedi gosod glasbrint mor gadarn ar gyfer ymdrechion cadwraeth yn y dyfodol. Hoffwn ddiolch i'r gwirfoddolwyr niferus y cyfarfûm â hwy wrth ymweld â choedwig Clocaenog, gan gynnwys Chris Bamber, cadeirydd Ymddiriedolaeth Gwiwerod Coch Clocaenog, Dave Wilson a Vic Paine. Mae eu hymdrechion cadwraeth wedi gwneud gwahaniaeth enfawr. Ac wrth gwrs, nid yw'r ymdrechion cadwraeth wedi'u cyfyngu i Ynys Môn nac i Sir Ddinbych. Maent hefyd ar y gweill yng nghoedwig Tywi yng nghanolbarth Cymru. Mae tua 300 o wiwerod coch bellach yn galw'r goedwig yn gartref iddynt, diolch i ymdrechion prosiect Red Squirrels United - rhaglen gadwraeth dair blynedd a ariennir gan gronfa dreftadaeth y loteri. Mae cymaint o waith wedi'i wneud i warchod ein poblogaeth o wiwerod coch, ond wrth gwrs, rydym ymhell iawn o fod wedi gorffen. Mae gan ddyfodol cadwraeth gwiwerod coch botensial i fod yn feiddgar ac yn fywiog - fel gwiwer o fywiog yn wir. Yng ngogledd Cymru, mae'r prosiect Mamaliaid Hudolus ar fin dechrau. Prosiect pum mlynedd yw hwn sy'n cael ei ddatblygu i ddod â CNC, Ymddiriedolaeth Gwiwerod Coch Clocaenog ac Ymddiriedolaeth Gwiwerod Coch Cymru at ei gilydd i ffurfio ymdrech gadwraeth flaenllaw yn fy etholaeth i ac o'i hamgylch. Ond nid yw'r ymdrechion cadwraeth hyn wedi'u cyfyngu i goedwigoedd yn unig; mae'r gwaith yn mynd rhagddo mewn mannau eraill hefyd. Fel hyrwyddwr y wiwer goch ac yn noddwr balch ac aelod oes o Sw Mynydd Cymru, rwy'n hynod falch o raglen fridio'r wiwer goch sydd wedi'i lleoli ym Mae Colwyn. Yn 1989, dechreuodd y sw ei brosiect cadwraeth hiraf, sydd hyd heddiw yn ymrwymedig i warchod gwiwerod coch ar draws ynysoedd Prydain. A thrwy weithio ledled y DU, mae'r rhaglen fridio honno wedi arwain ymchwil hanfodol ar ailgyflwyno bywyd gwyllt ac effaith brech y wiwer. Chwaraeodd ein sw genedlaethol ran flaenllaw a chynnar yn y gwaith o ailgyflwyno rhan eiconig o fywyd gwyllt Cymru ar Ynys Môn ac yng Nghaeaenog, ac rwyf am achub ar y cyfle i dalu teyrnged i'r sw am yr holl waith cadwraeth y mae wedi'i wneud gyda gwiwerod coch, a rhywogaethau eraill yn wir, oherwydd nid oes amheuaeth, heb ein sw genedlaethol, byddai ein bywyd gwyllt yn llai amrywiol ac yn llai cyfoethog nag y mae. Yn ogystal â'r rhaglenni bridio sy'n digwydd mewn caethiwed, mae dulliau cadwraeth eraill hefyd wedi bod yn llwyddiannus. Rhwng 2015 a 2017, rhyddhaodd Ymddiriedolaeth Bywyd Gwyllt Vincent dros 50 o feleod ger Pontarfynach yng Ngheredigion. Fel ysglyfaethwr naturiol i'r wiwer lwyd, mae cyflwyno'r beleod wedi helpu i gadw'r boblogaeth o wiwerod llwyd i lawr a than reolaeth. Mae angen inni fabwysiadu ymdrech gadwraethol gyfannol o'r fath os yw poblogaeth y wiwer goch ledled Cymru a gweddill y DU i wella ymhellach. Yn ogystal â bygythiad gwiwerod llwyd, mae cwympo coed hefyd yn fygythiad hirdymor sylweddol i'n ffrindiau blewog. Fel y mae pethau ar hyn o bryd, diolch byth, mae nifer o amddiffyniadau cyfreithiol gan y wiwer goch. Mae'n anghyfreithlon i ladd neu achosi anaf i wiwer goch yn fwriadol, mae'n anghyfreithlon i aflonyddu ar neu rwystro nythod gwiwerod sy'n cael eu defnyddio, ac wrth gwrs, mae'n anghyfreithlon i darfu ar wiwer tra mae yn ei nyth. Ac er bod croeso mawr i'r amddiffyniadau hyn, nid ydynt yn ddigon, oherwydd er bod y gyfraith yn diogelu coed unigol sy'n gartref i wiwerod rhag cael eu cwympo, nid yw'n diogelu'r cynefin cyfagos, sydd, wrth gwrs, yr un mor bwysig ar gyfer goroesiad hirdymor y rhywogaeth. Mae angen i reolwyr cynefinoedd coedwigoedd fod wrth wraidd yr ymdrech gadwraeth hon, ac er cymaint y mae CNC eisiau diogelu ein bywyd gwyllt, mae arnaf ofn nad oes ganddynt ddigon o bwerau ar hyn o bryd i allu gwneud hynny. Fel y mae pethau, yr unig reswm y gall CNC wrthod trwydded cwympo coed yw am resymau'n ymwneud ag arferion rheoli coedwigoedd gwael. Nid yw'r gyfraith yn caniatáu i CNC wrthod trwydded, hyd yn oed os gwyddys y bydd y drwydded honno'n achosi niwed sylweddol i gynefin naturiol gwiwerod coch. A gwn, Weinidog, fod hyn yn rhywbeth rydym wedi gohebu arno yn y gorffennol mewn perthynas â'r trefniadau presennol hyn. Rwy'n eu hystyried yn anghywir, ac nid wyf yn credu eu bod yn adlewyrchu'r gwerth y mae pobl ledled Cymru yn ei roi ar ein bywyd gwyllt, ac ar y wiwer goch yn arbennig. Felly, rwy'n eich annog chi, a'ch cyd-Aelodau yn Llywodraeth Cymru, i gyflwyno model trwyddedu gwahanol a fyddai'n caniatáu i CNC allu gwrthod trwyddedau cwympo coed sy'n cael effaith andwyol annerbyniol ar gynefin bywyd gwyllt. Mae hyn yn digwydd eisoes yn yr Alban, a chredaf fod hwnnw'n fodel y dylem ei fabwysiadu. Ddirprwy Lywydd, mae trafferthion y wiwer goch, a rhywogaethau eraill mewn sefyllfaoedd tebyg, wedi mynd o dan y radar yn rhy hir. Heb y camau priodol i ddiogelu ein bywyd gwyllt yma yng Nghymru, mae perygl inni achosi niwed na ellir ei unioni i'n treftadaeth naturiol. Yma yng Nghymru, rydym wedi cael ein bendithio â chefn gwlad bendigedig a bywyd gwyllt gwych, a'n dyletswydd i genedlaethau'r dyfodol yw pasio'r cyfoeth toreithiog hwnnw a etifeddwyd gennym mewn gwell cyflwr nag y'i cawsom. Yng ngeiriau'r Prif Weinidog gwych, Margaret Thatcher, Nid oes gan yr un genhedlaeth rydd-ddaliad ar y ddaear hon. Y cyfan sydd gennym yw tenantiaeth oes - gyda les atgyweirio lawn. Ac rwyf am annog holl Aelodau'r Senedd, a Llywodraeth Cymru, i anrhydeddu'r denantiaeth oes honno. Ein dyletswydd yw diogelu ein hamgylchedd a chefnogi'r wiwer goch a bywyd gwyllt eiconig arall yng Nghymru. Diolch.