The Welsh Government has ended grant funding for the climate change charity Size of Wales, which works with indigenous communities to grow trees and protect tropical forests in Africa and South America. The decision was communicated to the charity this week by Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams, and the grant will not continue beyond its current end date of March 31, 2027.
Charity's Work and Funding
Size of Wales works with indigenous people to grow trees and protect at least 2 million hectares of tropical forests, an area the size of Wales. The charity says it educates people in Wales to "recognise the critical role Indigenous communities play in protecting the climate, biodiversity, and livelihoods" and aims for Wales to become the world's first "deforestation free nation". Its website lists 15 staff, and former First Minister Carwyn Jones was a former trustee.
Projects the charity has been involved in include distributing 3.2 million seedlings in Uganda this financial year to tackle climate change and "develop sustainable livelihoods by growing millions of trees". It also provided training and support to 32 beekeeping groups, built stoves to reduce the use of fuel wood, and worked with farmers on sustainable practices.
Government's Position
A Welsh Government spokesman said the decision is not "a judgement on the quality of the work. The programme has planted millions of trees and built important links between Wales and Uganda." The spokesman added: "As we develop a new International Strategy for Wales, we are working to ensure that future investment demonstrates impact and value for money and delivers clear benefits for Wales as well as our international partners."
The charity's accounts show that in the year ending 2025, it received £749,500 in grant funding from the Welsh Government, considerably more than any of its other donors, given its total funds for the year were £1.1 million.
Political Criticism and Budget Context
The work of Size of Wales has faced criticism from opposition politicians in the Senedd, with both the Conservatives and Reform UK criticising the charity's projects. Before the election, Conservative group leader Darren Millar said in 2025 that his party would have "axed those overseas projects like the gender-neutral tree planting in Uganda, the solar-powered canoes for the Wampis tribe in the Amazon" if the then-Labour administration had done a budget deal with his party.
Since May's election, Reform UK's Joe Martin has spoken out about the charity's work, citing its work with the Wampis tribe as "some of the most pointless schemes known to man". He said: "We send Uganda money to plant trees as well, because we won that competition, 'Who can find the stupidest use of taxpayer money?'" Reform UK has made an end to international spending a red line for any budget deal with Plaid.
The main Welsh Government budget for next year is being finalised ahead of publication on November 17. As Plaid is a minority administration, it will need support from elsewhere in the Senedd to pass the £27 billion budget. In the 96-strong Senedd, Plaid has 44 members, and a majority is 49.
A Welsh Government spokesperson added: "Recognising the success of a programme is not the same as committing to fund the same delivery model indefinitely. Government has to make difficult choices about where limited resources can have the greatest impact and how our international activity should evolve. We will never retreat from Wales being an outward-looking and globally responsible nation." Size of Wales declined to comment.
