Area Statements May update

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1 Area Statements May update Building a healthy, functioning environment together Firstly, a big thank you to all those who responded to our online questionnaire we ve had around 200 responses to date. We now have a stakeholder database from which we will tailor information to particular stakeholders in a place, or with a specific interest. We have kept the survey open so if you wish to receive these regular updates or more specific ones relating to you place please give us your details. The stakeholders captured through this survey aren t the only people we will be engaging with throughout the process of developing Area Statements. Quite often there will be people or organisations that have little interest in the area statements process but are critical to their delivery. When exploring issues or opportunities we will continually assess the people, businesses and communities at the heart of the issue, and seek appropriate and meaningful involvement. Natural Resources Wales are developing Area Statements to help facilitate the sustainable management of Wales natural resources. Area Statements will set out evidence on the natural resources in a place, the benefits they can provide, and from this, identify the opportunities for implementing the Natural Resources Policy, so they can continue to deliver benefits now and in the future. They are an opportunity to rethink the way we manage and use our natural resources, and collaboratively design new solutions to the big societal and environmental challenges we face Area Statements will cover: 1. North West, 2. North East, 3. Mid Wales, 4. South West, 5. South East, 6. South Central, 7. Marine

2 What you ve told us so far One of the things that our stakeholder engagement sessions in 2016 identified was that we need to have a collaborative view on where and how the priorities and challenges in the Natural Resources Policy relate to different areas of Wales. That often depends greatly on the geography and specific focus of stakeholder interests so it will be important to maintain a strategic overview. Many of these issues are not new. We have been working and engaging with a wide range of stakeholders around tackling these challenges through our existing delivery mechanisms such as the Wales Biodiversity Partnership, the River Basin liaison panels, the Wales Land Management Forum, the Flood Risk Management committee, Wales Marine Action and Advisory Group, the Climate Change Committee for Wales, the National Access Forum and the Woodland Advisory Panel to name just a few. To make the best use of people s time and effort, we will also continue to use these for general communications on Area Statements. More recently, NRW s engagement with every Public Services Board in Wales has helped to create a series of joint Wellbeing objectives for every locality, and Wellbeing Plans are now starting to emerge. What this shows is that NRW has a done a lot of work with others to explore what the needs of society are, where these issues align with management of natural resources, and where we might need to focus our efforts. What is new, is that NRW must now prepare Area Statements to help take a more integrated approach to tackling those national priorities and challenges. Collectively we have a job to do to make sense of this information, and to help provide some clarity as to how we want to pool our resources to move these issues forward. Each of the 7 areas has co-ordinators who co-create the Area Statement (see page 5)

3 Initial areas of focus To get started, NRW is proposing to work collaboratively to identify some initial areas of focus. These are the starting off point or launch-pad for discussions around tackling the national priorities and challenges identified in the NRP (see below). The focus could be on a particular part of Wales, or on an individual issue or economic sector. This might be a focus on a particular challenge or opportunity from the NRP, or priority in a particular place (for example, Increasing Green Infrastructure in south Wales), or a group of priorities through a particular policy or programme area. Providing clarity on where we collectively should start through identifying these initial areas of focus - we believe will enable our engagement to be more meaningful and purposeful. This is not about identifying solutions at this point, it is about where, or around what we should start to explore those issues in more depth. NRP: Priorities and Challenges To support the delivery of the national priority set out in Wales Natural Resources Policy - Increasing Green Infrastructure in and around urban areas, an Green Infrastructure Working Group is being set up as part of a wider group to implement the Environment (Wales) Act. The first workshop was held on the 23rd of April.Working Groups are proposed for all priorities in the NRP, and the next workshop will focus on woodland and forestry. What should our Initial Areas of Focus be? Existing stakeholder knowledge and information Well-being plans and priorities NRW Commissioning Plan submissions Known policy challenges and opportunities Initial areas of focus will not close down the opportunity to look at other priorities NRW recognises the challenge in identifying initial areas of focus and will work to ensure other priorities are not closed down, particularly locally specific priorities or opportunities that appear to fall beyond scope particularly those issues that are very locally specific. This is all part of working adaptively. Starting at one point and openly following where the engagement takes us will lead to more innovative and creative solutions.nrw will need to continually review and learn from this process to understand whether we are making effective progress. Sharing this learning will be a critical way of supporting priorities that manifest in different ways across Wales. Understanding the nuances of what works in one place, but not another, can help to design more tailored solutions to these challenges, delivering to local needs.if you have any thoughts on what our initial areas of focus should be, aligned to the Natural Resources Policy Challenges and priorities, please SMNR@Cyfoethnaturiolcymru. gov.uk

4 Area Statements website soon to be launched We have been working on establishing an online resource where we can begin to share information, evidence and stories about places as part of developing area statements. In line with the legal purpose of area statements we expect over time this will contain information for each area on: The natural resources in the area The benefits they provide Local area case studies and stories What we ve learnt through the process The priorities risks and opportunities that need to be addressed Working together: What NRW and others can do to deliver sustainable management of natural resources How you can get involved We want to make this information as interactive and engaging as possible. We are looking into ways in which we can provide interactive mapping to explore the data we and others hold on natural resources and their benefits. We are also exploring opportunities for users to submit their own content and stories. These functions won t be available immediately. We will be concentrating on presenting the broad evidence base in simple but engaging ways. This will enable us to begin the dialogue around exploring the challenges and opportunities outlined in the Natural Resources Policy. We will soon let you know when the first phase of the Webpages is ready. The national challenges and opportunities for the sustainable management of natural resources, identified in the NRP are: Reverse the decline in biodiversity by developing resilient ecological networks Safeguard and increase carbon stores in soils and biomass Maintain productive capacity, in particular by improving soil quality and biosecurity Reducing the risk of flooding Supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation through ecosystem approaches Reducing noise pollution and pollution levels in our air, and enhance air quality Improve the quality and ensure the quantity of our water Taking action to reduce the pressures on natural resources, such as through resource efficiency and renewable energy Supporting preventative approaches to health outcomes, with a particular focus on key public health issues of transport related air and noise pollution, tackling physical inactivity and mental health Supporting action to tackle health and economic inequalities Supporting community cohesion Supporting secure and stable employment

5 The National Priorities for taking action to both tackle the challenges and realise the opportunities are: Delivering nature-based solutions, with a particular focus on the following which have been identified in SoNaRR and the NRP as delivering the greatest benefit for both building ecosystem resilience and delivering wider benefits across the well-being goals - Developing resilient ecological networks. Resilient ecological networks are about linking up Wales protected sites with other biodiversity hotspots and the wider countryside, so that species are able to move within them as required for all stages of their life cycles. Developing networks will involve targeted habitat restoration and the development of landscape-scale projects and nature-based solutions - Increasing green infrastructure in and around urban areas - Coastal zone management and adaptation - Increased canopy cover and well located woodland for greatest ecosystem service value - Maintaining, enhancing and restoring floodplains and hydrogeological systems to reduce flood risk and improve water quality and quantity - Restoration of uplands and managing them for biodiversity, carbon, water, flood risk, energy and recreational benefits Increasing resource efficiency (including moving towards a circular economy) and renewable energy Taking a place-based approach How to contact us For general enquiries contact SMNR@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk or our Area Statement coordinators at... northwest.as@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk northeast.as@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk mid.as@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk southwest.as@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk southcentral.as@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk southeast.as@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk Marine.AS@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk