Environmental Umbrella Body Opens for Work Today; NATURE BODIES MERGE TO FORM NATURAL RESOURCES WALES

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Byline: ANTONY STONE newsdesk@walesonline.co.uk

A SWATHE of Welsh public bodies disappeared today as a single new environmental champion with sweeping powers replaced them.

From today The Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Agency Wales and the Forestry Commission in Wales have all been merged into a new organisation called Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

Natural Resources Wales is one of the first public bodies in the world able to take in such a wide sweep of concerns.

Its responsibilities will cover a huge range of areas from regulating nuclear power stations to issuing recreational fishing licences.

Its creation has provoked significant controversy since it was approved in November 2011, amid …