As a Member of the Senedd for Sir Fynwy Torfaen, I am really pleased to be chairing the new Senedd Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Canals and Waterways.

Wales is a nation shaped by water. For more than 200 years, our canals have connected communities, supported industry, and helped shape the Wales we know today.

While their heritage value is clear, our canals are not relics of the past. They remain important assets for Wales today and for future generations.

The new CPG has been established to raise the profile of canals and waterways as a vital part of Wales’s national infrastructure, recognising their contribution to our economy, tourism, environment, heritage, and communities.

The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal is a perfect example of why this matters. This much-loved waterway is an important part of the visitor economy, while also providing an important habitat for wildlife and a place for communities to enjoy.

But the Mon & Brec has also brought the pressures facing our waterways into sharp focus. Changing weather patterns, prolonged dry periods, and the challenge of maintaining a reliable water supply have underlined the need to make these historic assets resilient for the future.

Following months of campaigning and collaboration, the recent Welsh Government commitment of up to £2 million over five years to secure support water for the canal demonstrates the importance of partnership and the recognition this asset matters to Wales.

This was a real collective effort. Campaigners, canal-side businesses, boaters, volunteers, tourism organisations, Members of the Senedd, MPs, councillors and thousands of people who signed petitions all played a part.

It demonstrated an important lesson: no single organisation can secure the future of our canals alone. That is why I am glad the Canal and River Trust in Wales is providing the secretariat for the group.

The challenges facing our waterways are interconnected, from water management and climate adaptation to nature recovery, regeneration, skills, public health, and infrastructure resilience.

I hope the new CPG can make a difference. I want it to provide a forum where we can hear directly from the people and organisations who know our waterways best, build stronger partnerships and ensure their voices are heard.

Above all, we need to consider what Wales needs from its waterways in the decades ahead and how these assets can best serve the social, environmental, and economic needs of our country.

Our canals have played an important part in Wales’s past. By working together, we can make sure they play an equally important part in its future.