Natural Resources Wales in the context of "Regions of Wales"

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; Welsh: Ardal o Harddwch Naturiol Eithriadol, AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England and Wales have also adopted the name National Landscape (Welsh: Tirwedd Cenedlaethol).

Areas are designated in recognition of their national importance by the relevant public body: Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency respectively. On 22 November 2023, following a review, the AONBs in England and Wales adopted the National Landscapes name, and are in the process of rebranding. AONBs in Northern Ireland did not rename. The name "area of outstanding natural beauty" is still the designated legal term.

The coastline of Wales extends from the English border at Chepstow westwards to Pembrokeshire then north to Anglesey and back eastwards to the English border once again near Flint. Its character is determined by multiple factors, including the local geology and geological processes active during and subsequent to the last ice age, its relative exposure to or shelter from waves, tidal variation and the history of human settlement and development which varies considerably from one place to another. The majority of the coast east of Cardiff in the south, and of Llandudno in the north, is flat whilst that to the west is more typically backed by cliffs. The cliffs are a mix of sandstones, shales and limestones, the erosion of which provides material for beach deposits. Of the twenty-two principal areas which deliver local government in Wales, sixteen have a coastline, though that of Powys consists only of a short section of tidal river some distance from the open sea. Its length (including Anglesey) has been estimated at 1,680 miles (2,700 km).

The South Wales Valleys (Welsh: Cymoedd De Cymru) are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run north–south, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys" (Welsh: Y Cymoedd), they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the west to Monmouthshire in the east; to the edge of the pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain near the cities of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport.

A heritage coast is a strip of coastline in England and Wales, the extent of which is defined by agreement between the relevant statutory national agency and the relevant local authority. Such areas are recognised for their natural beauty, wildlife and heritage and amongst the purposes of definition is support for these qualities and enabling enjoyment of them by the public. For England this national agency is Natural England (having formerly been the Countryside Agency) and for Wales it is Natural Resources Wales (which took over the role from its predecessor body, Countryside Council for Wales).