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Getty Images<\/p>\nSteffan MessengerWales environment correspondent<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
The Golden Lion Tamarin is an endangered species that is native to the Amazon rainforests of Brazil<\/p>\n
Tree-felling in the Amazon rainforest is partly to blame for pollution that is plaguing UK rivers such as the Wye, a new report suggests. <\/p>\n
It points the finger of blame at soy which is imported from vast plantations overseas and used as livestock feed, calling this a “hidden link” to the poor state of many waterways in Wales, and around the UK.<\/p>\n
The report from environment groups Size of Wales<\/a> and WWF Cymru<\/a> says the soy is high in phosphorous, and becomes a pollutant when animal manure spread on land runs off into rivers.<\/p>\n It calls for action to stop the import of commodities linked to deforestation, while the Welsh government said it was already taking “ambitious steps”.<\/p>\n “What we eat and produce here… can have a profound effect on the future of forests and those communities that depend on them,” explained Barbara Davies-Quy, deputy director of Size of Wales.<\/p>\n “Every time we buy cheap chicken fed on soy or buy corned beef from South American countries linked to deforestation risk, Wales is contributing to a system that drives the destruction of the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest and harms indigenous peoples.”<\/p>\n The report has been released as representatives from 190 countries are gathering in the Brazilian city of Bel\u00e9m – described as a “gateway to the Amazon” – for the COP30<\/a> climate talks.<\/p>\n Rainforests such as the Amazon are vital in the fight against rising global temperatures, acting as carbon sinks as well as being irreplaceable hotspots for biodiversity.<\/p>\n World leaders pledged to halt and reverse deforestation by the end of this decade<\/a> at Glasgow’s COP26 summit four years ago.<\/p>\n But today’s report says rainforest destruction continues at “an alarming pace”, pointing to recent data<\/a> suggesting 6.7 million hectares of tropical forest were lost in 2024.<\/p>\n Shea Buckland Jones of WWF Cymru said “Wales’ reliance on imported soy” had left “a trail of destruction from the forests of Brazil to the rivers of Wales”.<\/p>\n Te\u00f3filo Kukush Pati and Tsanim Wajai Asamat of the Wamp\u00eds Nation – an indigenous nation from the Peruvian Amazon \u2013 visited the Senedd in 2024<\/p>\n The report calls for governments and local councils to do more to influence the situation by changing the food they buy in – avoiding goods which could have contributed to deforestation.<\/p>\n It says every year Wales imports around 190,000 tonnes of soy and 12,000 tonnes of beef.<\/p>\n Nearly three-quarters of the soy comes from countries that are at high risk of deforestation and social issues, as does 26% of beef imported.<\/p>\n In western Paran\u00e1, Brazil, the Av\u00e1 Guarani people have lost much of their ancestral lands to vast soy plantations.<\/p>\n “Agribusiness came and destroyed everything – our rivers, our forests, our food,” said Karai Okaju, an Av\u00e1 Guarani leader.<\/p>\n “The land is sick. It cannot breathe.”<\/p>\n The community has established a link with Wales, alongside the Wamp\u00eds nation from Peru, whose leaders recently visited the Senedd to meet with ministers.<\/p>\n Phosphate pollution has become a major problem in the River Wye<\/p>\n About 80% of the soy brought into Wales is used as livestock feed for poultry and dairy farms.<\/p>\n High in phosphorus, it can become a problem when excess nutrients from animal manure leaches into rivers and groundwater.<\/p>\n The issue has been hugely controversial along the River Wye<\/a> in recent years, with as many as 23 million chickens – a quarter of the UK’s poultry production – raised in the river’s catchment area.<\/p>\n Several of Wales’ other most protected river networks are also failing to meet targets around phosphate pollution<\/a> – including the Usk and Cleddau.<\/p>\n “If we change what’s on our plates, we can change the planet,” said Size of Wales’ Barbara Davies-Quy<\/p>\n The report calls on the Welsh government to support farmers through its new subsidy system – the Sustainable Farming Scheme<\/a> – to reduce reliance on imported soy feed.<\/p>\n It wants the public sector and businesses to commit to deforestation-free supply chains by 2028 and an outright ban on corned beef from Brazil.<\/p>\n It calls too for the promotion of diets with “less, but better” meat and dairy.<\/p>\n Despite what it describes as “stark findings”, the report highlights positive examples of leadership on the issue in Wales.<\/p>\n Caerphilly council has new mandatory deforestation-free criteria for food procurement.<\/p>\n This means reducing the use of ultra-processed foods, sourcing higher welfare and organic meat and dairy, and Fairtrade coffee and cocoa.<\/p>\n Monmouthshire council became Wales’ first Deforestation Free Champion council<\/a>, in a move brought about as a result of lobbying by the county’s school pupils<\/a>.<\/p>\n It has involved scrutinising school meal provision across the county, reducing the use of palm oil and sourcing all beef from Wales.<\/p>\n A “deforestation-free chickpea korma” has replaced chicken curry on school menus across the county.<\/p>\n A delegation of school pupils from Monmouthshire have been invited to speak at an event at the COP30 summit via video link about what they have achieved.<\/p>\n Leader of Monmouthshire council Mary Ann Brocklesby said they were now starting to look at meals offered in care homes and tourist sites.<\/p>\n “We want as many other councils across the UK to do the same – it makes sense for our future and it’s even better when it’s our young people who are holding us to account,” she said.<\/p>\n Pupils in Monmouthshire have been lobbying their local council to do more to remove goods linked to deforestation from school meals <\/p>\n Wales’ Future Generations Commissioner Derek Walker has also called for a “deforestation-free public sector” by 2028.<\/p>\n Asked if it was affordable for councils to move away from cheap imported food at a time of squeezed budgets he said “the cost of not doing this is huge… to the climate emergency”.<\/p>\n Mr Walker added it could also help the Welsh economy, saying: “Hopefully we’ll be buying more locally-produced products whilst also doing the right thing globally.”<\/p>\n The Welsh government said it recognised the importance “of playing our part in reducing deforestation-linked impacts, particularly through our supply chains and international partnerships”.<\/p>\n “However, it is a challenge that requires a whole Wales effort, and one that we must face together to protect our planet for future generations,” a spokesperson added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Steffan MessengerWales environment correspondent Getty Images The Golden Lion Tamarin is an endangered species that is native to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-282478","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Size](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2ffa8580-b98d-11f0-af69-4365f82c1c41.jpg.webp.webp\")
Size of Wales<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/fd57d970-a366-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n![\"Size](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/4cddb190-b98d-11f0-af69-4365f82c1c41.jpg.webp.webp\")
Size of Wales<\/p>\n![\"Monmouthshire](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/761f5730-ba54-11f0-aac3-4f1fdbb3aa71.png.webp.webp\")
Monmouthshire County Council<\/p>\n