1. Challenges for Implementation
Environment (Wales) Bill:
Challenges for Implementation
Russell De’ath, NRM Advisor, NRW
UKELA, 27th May 2015

2. Implementation challenges
1. Interpretation and Cultural
2. Scale and Governance 3.
Timescale
4. “Resilience”

3. Purpose of the Bill SMNR
A modern approach to managing our natural resources in a proactive and joined-up way
…in doing so apply the principles of SMNR and SD (and the requirements of the WFG Act) and consider climate change to way we use and manage natural resources.
A key concept is the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources - embedding sustainable development and the ecosystems approach as guiding principles to help deliver environmental well-being.
SMNR 3

4. 1. Interpretation and Cultural
“Each time we decide to draw a boundary around an issue, we are doing so from a particular mental model that espouses certain values and assumptions...”
Kathia Laszlo, Saybrook University

5. This photograph highlights how different land management decisions have been influenced by a range of factors, and how each type of management may deliver different kinds of ecosystem services. That on the left is likely to deliver more by way of food as a provisioning service, but may offer less by way of regulating services such as water management, carbon sequestration or pollination. Biodiversity is likely to feature as a supporting service in the right hand field, whilst it is possible that people would prefer to walk through the field on the left, since it offers a more secure way through. Furthermore, people may perceive the left hand field as having a more interesting historic field system, and thus the cultural services may be more obvious here. 5

6. 1. Interpretation and Cultural
Section 4 (e)
“take account of the benefits and intrinsic value of natural resources and ecosystems”

7. Benefits
But also what’s important to recognise is the benefits that these services provide to society.
[Click] Timber for building materials,
[Click] Drinking water is supplied to our homes
[Click] We eat the food grown or raised on the land and in the waters
[Click] We go for walks, biking or other recreational activities for exercise and fresh air – this often makes us feel better physically and mentally
[Click] Trees in urban areas helps clean the air we breathe and can reduce the noise levels.
[Click] Many have an interest in interested in wildlife and conservation.
These are only a few examples.
[Click] The benefits we receive can also be in terms of money, for example;
The more money that the water companies have to spend in cleaning the water they supply for us to drink then the higher our water bills
Flooding events increase insurance premiums for us all – not just those in flooded areas.
Bad health due to poor air quality increases costs for the NHS and subsequently to our financial contribution. 7

8. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
“Where [NRW] are of the opinion that any area of land is of special interest by reason of any of its flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features, it shall be the duty of [NRW] to notify that fact…”
More than 1,000 SSSIs in Wales…
Should we review all of those in light of the other benefits that they provide?

9. Forestry Act 1967 (as amended) Section 1 3(a)
NRW must:
“endeavour to achieve a reasonable balance between—
(a) the development of afforestation, the management of forests and the production and supply of timber, and
(b) the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty and the conservation of flora, fauna and geological or physiographical features of special interest”
Does that mean taking land out of productive forestry to provide other benefits?

10. 1. Interpretation and Cultural
NRW: What we do
Adviser to Government
Statutory consultee
Designating authority
Environmental regulator
Permitting and licensing authority
Land manager and owner
Operator
Outdoor recreation
Incident management
Evidence
Natural Resources Wales has many roles which include;
Adviser to Government - We are the principal adviser to the Welsh Government on the environment. Although we are a WG Sponsored Body we are an arms-length body (i.e. advise on policy, but don’t make policy. We are a delivery body).
Statutory consultee on planning – As well as response to national consultations we respond to over 9,000 planning applications each year
Designating authority – e.g. for Sites of Special Scientific Interest. We protect these important sites that make up 30% of Wales's land and waters – including:
73 national nature reserves (wildlife and natural e.g. geology features),
1 marine nature reserve (Skomer),
Over 1,000 Sites of Special Scientific Interest
10 ramsar sites (Wetlands),
92 special areas of conservation (designated under EU Habitats Directive) and
20 special protection areas (EU Birds Directive)
Environmental regulator - We regulate sectors including forestry, nuclear power stations, industrial premises, water companies and agriculture - making sure they meet high standards to protect local communities and the environment.
Permitting and licensing authority – We license activities that include water abstraction, flood defences and dredging. We issue over 10,000 permits, 65,000 fishing rod licences and 100 marine licences each year.
Land manager and owner – We manage 7% of the land area of Wales, including over 300,000 acres of woodlands where we market over 625,000 tonnes of timber each year. We also maintain almost 2,000 miles of flood defences and more than 5,000 sluices, outfalls, floodgates and barriers in Wales to reduce the risk of flooding for over 65,000 homes
Operator – We operate five visitors centres, a laboratory in Llanelli and fish hatcheries
Provider of outdoor recreation – We are the biggest provider of outdoor recreation in Wales, with 550 kilometres of mountain bike trails, 135 kilometres of horse riding trails, 450 kilometres of walking trails and 75 picnic sites.
Incident management – We are a 24 hour emergency responder and deal with approximately 9,000 reported incidents a year that include flooded homes, polluted rivers and illegally dumped waste. We issue flood warnings directly to over 100,000 people to give them time to prepare themselves and their properties if the worst was to happen.
Evidence - We collect data on various environmental parameters and analyse the evidence base. For example;
We have mapped some of the ecosystem services for Wales such as water regulation.
We have monitored a site on Snowdon as part of a UK Environmental Change Network since 1995 as one of our long term datasets on climate change.
We have monitored all 1,600km of the coastline around Wales as part of our intertidal survey where we mapped over 55,000 hectares of intertidal habitat.
© Natural Resources Wales 10

11. Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Bill – Architecture
A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
A globally responsible Wales
WELL-BEING GOALS
A sustainable Wales
A prosperous Wales
A resilient Wales
A healthier Wales
A Wales of cohesive communities
A more
equal Wales
PROGRESS
National Indicators
Duty: Improve the economic, social and environmental and cultural well-being of Wales by contributing to the to the achievement of all the goals
WHO
Public Service Organisations:
Local Well-being Plan
Local Well-being Assessment
Welsh Government
National Museum
Arts
Council
Sports
Wales
National Library
HEFCW
Velindre
NHS Trust
Public Health Wales
National Park Authorities
Natural Resources Wales
Fire & Rescue
Authority
Local Authorities
Local Health Boards
Community Councils
Public Services Boards
Other partners
HOW
Sustainable Development Principle
Long-term
Integration
Collaboration
Involvement
Prevention
TRENDS
Future Trends Report
TRANSPARENCY
Better information
Statement
Annual reporting
Responding to the Commissioner
EXAMINATIONS
Auditor General for Wales
Examinations
SUPPORTING THE CHANGE
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
Long term
Advice
Review powers
Future Generations Report
Recommendations
Monitor
Advisory Panel

12. WFG SMNR External perceptions of our role
Natural resources contribution to well-being goals
Facilitation of Area Statements
Leadership role, or the public sector’s “conscience”?

13. 2. Scale and Governance
Ecosystems work at many levels/scales...

14. 2. Scale and Governance
…and so do decision makers.

15. 2. Scale and Governance
“There is no single solution or recipe for effective governance of natural resources.
These will vary according to the type of resource at stake, the location, the stakeholders involved, as well as many other factors”
IUCN Contribution to “Environmental Justice and Global Citizenship” Governance of Natural Resources: Reconciling Local and National Levels

17. National Natural Resources Policy
Learning from System Approaches, policy responses should:
establish the direction of the change required clearly
set boundaries that may not be crossed by any implementation strategy
allocate resources, but without specifying how they must be deployed
specify core evaluation requirements, for example frequency of output, but leaves the detailed design to local agencies.
From: J. Chapman, 2004 “System Failure”

18. Public Service Boards…
WFG
SMNR
…only part of the solution

19. Section 8 (2) (SoNaRR) 3.Timescale
“NRW must publish its first report before the end of four months starting with the day this section comes into force.”
= September 2016
What scope to use s14?
(Duty on public bodies to provide information or other assistance)

20. 3.Timescale
Climate Change

21. 3. Timescale
Long term thinking
Uncertainty

22. How do we measure resilience?
Section 4
(principles of SMNR)
“(g) take account of the resilience of ecosystems…”
Also WFG Act, Section 4: The Well-being goals:
A resilient Wales: “A nation which maintains and enhances a biodiverse natural environment with healthy functioning ecosystems that support social, economic and ecological resilience and the capacity to adapt to change (for example climate change”).
How do we measure resilience?

23. Ecosystem Resilience Diversity Connectivity = The ability
to adapt to pressures
Extent
Condition
Connectivity of course also links to the diversity extent and condition of ecosystems, and together they reflect the adaptability of the ecosystem to deal with various pressures.
These together form our understanding of the factors that make up resilient ecosystems.
We wont always have the right evidence in the right forms and the right places to enable us to make this determination – and there will also be other economic and social considerations that make consideration of resilience even more difficult. But it’s a solid way of challenging ourselves – is the outcome of this work going to contribute to resilience?

24. Monitoring
Connectivity of course also links to the diversity extent and condition of ecosystems, and together they reflect the adaptability of the ecosystem to deal with various pressures.
These together form our understanding of the factors that make up resilient ecosystems.
We wont always have the right evidence in the right forms and the right places to enable us to make this determination – and there will also be other economic and social considerations that make consideration of resilience even more difficult. But it’s a solid way of challenging ourselves – is the outcome of this work going to contribute to resilience?

25. Learning from System Approaches
Interventions should be ongoing and based upon learning what works, rather than specifying targets to be met.
The priority should be to improve overall system performance, as judged by outcomes on the ground.
The policy-making process would focus on the processes of improvement, rather than the control of the agencies involved.
Engagement with stakeholders would be based more upon listening and co-researching than on telling and instructing.
From: J. Chapman, 2004 “System Failure”

26. Conclusions (1)
The sustainable management of natural resources is our shared responsibility
NRW has a critical role to bind keys players together
The outputs from the bill must be owned by everyone
The sustainable management of natural resources is shared responsibility – we cannot deliver this on our own – we have to work collaboratively with land managers, businesses, communities and other public sector bodies
NRW has a critical role to bind those keys players together – the Environment Bill helps to provide the framework that enables us to do that and it will require a fresh way of approaching our work
If we are to deliver real and lasting benefits for the people, businesses and environment of wales then the outputs from the bill (Area statements) must be owned by everyone.

27. Shared Accountability Shared Responsibility
Adaptive Management is Critical
Shared Accountability
Revise Legislation
Experimental Schemes
Shared Responsibility
Iterative cycle - natural resources management - products inter-relate.
Is evidence based, encourages continuous learning and embeds adaptive management approach.

28. Conclusions (2)
The legal framework needs to allow flexibility in its implementation
National policy needs to set clear direction
There is an ongoing need to continue to unpick the legislative barriers

29. Diolch
Thank you