Public Health Wales ~ Dr Sarah Aitken
Natural Resources Wales ~ Bill Purvis and Christopher Rees
Minutes:
Natural Resources Wales
“To make sure that the environment and natural resources of Wales are sustainably maintained, sustainably enhanced and sustainably used, now and in the future.”
• Advisor
• Regulator
• Designator
• Responder
• Statutory Consultee
• Manager Operator
• Partner, Educator and Enabler
• Evidence Gatherer
• Employer
Natural Resources Wales is the largest Welsh Government Sponsored Body - employing 1,300 staff across Wales with a budget of £180 million. We were formed in April 2013, largely taking over the functions of the Countryside Council for Wales, Forestry Commission Wales and the Environment Agency in Wales, as well as certain Welsh Government functions.
We receive a remit letter at the start of each financial year setting out what the Welsh Government wants us to achieve during that year.
Adviser: principal adviser to Welsh Government, and adviser to industry and the wider public and voluntary sector, and communicator about issues relating to the environment and its natural resources
Regulator: protecting people and the environment including marine, forest and waste industries, and prosecuting those who breach the regulations that we are responsible for.
Designator: for Sites of Special Scientific Interest – areas of particular value for their wildlife or geology, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), and National Parks, as well as declaring National Nature Reserves
Responder: to some 9,000 reported environmental incidents a year as a Category 1 emergency responder
Statutory consultee: to some 9,000 planning applications a year
Manager/Operator: managing seven per cent of Wales’ land area including woodlands, National Nature Reserves, water and flood defences, and operating our visitor centres, recreation facilities, hatcheries and a laboratory
Partner, Educator and Enabler: key collaborator with the public, private and voluntary sectors, providing grant aid, and helping a wide range of people use the environment as a learning resource; acting as a catalyst for others’ work
Evidence gatherer: monitoring our environment, commissioning and undertaking research, developing our knowledge, and being a public records body
Employer: of almost 1,300 staff, as well as supporting other employment through contract work.
State of Natural Resources report
This is the FIRST product that NRW have been required to produce in accordance with the WBFGA and EA. It is a technical Assessment of the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources of Wales. It outlines our purpose as a business and as a partner delivering public services across Wales.
It’s a big moment – not simply because it is the FIRST real product of the Environment Act and sets out our analysis of the contribution that natural resources make across the seven well-being goals but more importantly because it represents the start of a conversation about the key risks we all face as a society if we fail to recognise the importance of ecosystems.
We can’t do all of this in isolation and we need a step change in our approaches if we are to build up the resilience of our ecosystems. This report provides us with the information to start the journey and conversations – and to look for those opportunities for direct delivery or enabling each other to. We need to think about these issues holistically and over the long-term. There are many complex systems at play and the wider actions of society can have indirect and perverse consequences.
As we develop the well-being plan and the place-based approach work, we will be in a good place to explore how the activities we all do separately and together capitalise on the opportunities to enhance ecosystem resilience and deliver the most benefits.
Key Opportunities from State of Natural Resources report
Greening our urban spaces – making better use of green spaces in our urban areas would:
Improve connectivity within and between ecosystems
Help with water infiltration and improving water quality
Reduce surface water flooding
Create places for health and recreation
Improve community cohesion
Help tackle health inequalities and poor air quality
Better soil and land management would:
Safeguard future food production
Support habitats for wildlife
Reduce the costs of water treatment
Increase woodland cover and bring existing woodland into more sustainable management would:
Help increase the diversity and connectivity of woodlands, making them more resilient to disease and better for wildlife
Increase the woodland resource
Provide building materials and fuel
Help reduce flood risk
Help store carbon to tackle climate change
Provide recreation opportunities to improve health and happiness
Wye Catchment Partnership
Formed in 2014 to bring together organisations, initiatives and individuals who have a shared interest in the catchment. It facilitates collaborative working to deliver improvements across several key themes.
The partnership brings together local people, organisations and businesses with a shared common goal of protecting and enhancing our rivers, landscape, habitats and wildlife not just for ourselves but for future generations.
Overcoming regional challenges – working together at the appropriate scale for delivering the environmental and wider, cultural, social and economic priorities and opportunities that our evidence highlights. BBNP opportunities
Monmouthshire Evidence Packs
NRW developed a local evidence pack to inform the assessment
What Evidence
As well as the above partnership, and the national picture delivered by SoNaRR. NRW have also been running a number of local trial projects which have enabled us to investigate what the sustainable management of natural resources means within a local context. The emphasis during these trials (Rhondda, Tawe and Dyfi) was on engagement with local communities and collaboration. The trials played a key role in informing WG during the creation of the WBFGA and EA.
Using lessons learned from the trials in terms of what data really resonated with local communities and facilitated delivery as well as the opportunities outlined in SoNaRR we developed these local place based evidence packs to help inform the assessment.
The pack aimed to present hard data in a more meaningful way. We used and interpreted information from data unit wales combined with experience from sector based leads and our own data sets plus learning successful local integrated projects such as the Wye Catchment Partnership to produce an accessible evidence base which fed into the assessment.
We were given an example of one of the spatial data sets which featured in the wellbeing assessment. Similar spatial data sets were created for;
Water Quality
Flood Risk (fluvial)
Diversity of landscape
Resilience of ecosystems
Managing our seas and coast
Forest, woods and trees
Recreation, access and tourism
Soils and agriculture
NRW land and ownership management
The evidence pack also provided information on what the data set means for wellbeing as well as a further relevant qualitative insights from local officers and sector leads where appropriate.
It is important to note here that this information is not perfect or final but rather forms the starting point for discussion. NRW are keen to provide a bit more interpretation of the data as the plan progresses specifically focussing on the significance of each issue (as highlighted in WBFGC feedback).
Contributing to new ways of working
As well as the evidence packs we also worked where possible at other levels to contribute positively to the overall assessment by
• Provided technical advice and guidance on environmental evidence and adapting the data where necessary
• Collaborating with other areas of the wider NRW business
• Raising awareness of the draft WBA with our local and national stakeholders for comment
• Participating in editorial panel discussions at officer level working on a collaborative response to the draft consultation feedback
• Working at scale by exploring regional opportunities through GSWAG and Aneurin Bevan Health Board.
Emerging issues
A prosperous Monmouthshire
Agriculture
How can we support high quality low impact products in this sector that will continue to provide sustainable jobs in the future?
Tourism
How can we make sure that organisations communities and local business work together to provide a first class service for local people and visitors now and in the future?
Flooding
How can partners work together to minimise flood risk in a more innovative way?
Transport
How can partners, communities and business work together to identify opportunities for active travel and reduce barriers to its use or explore novel ways of delivering services within communities?
A Healthier Monmouthshire
Increasingly sedentary lifestyle leading to chronic health conditions
How can we work better together in a way that unlocks opportunities for communities to access area of greenspace and the multiple benefits they provide?
Poor quality energy inefficient housing
How can we work together to support sustainable development planning and retrospective solutions to energy inefficiencies in the home environment?
Poor air quality
How can we work better together to minimise the impact of traffic in our communities in current and future developments throughout Monmouthshire?
Member Scrutiny:
A Member applauded natural Resources Wales on their presentation and the work that they do.
It was asked if it would be possible for a primary aged child of 2017 to catch and eat a salmon from the River Wye in thirty years’ time and we were answered that education needed to start now with parents impressing upon their children to be more aware of their environment. The decline in salmon is a great concern and various issues, including climate change are being looked at in relation to this. The River Wye is regarded as a good news story in so much as the long term projection of how they believe salmon stocks will increase is positive. There is 100% catch and release in place on the River Wye for a number of years and this has made a significant difference.
A Member asked what identifiable actions were being taken and in response were told that that Wellbeing & Future Generations Act and the Environmental Act provide organisations like Natural Resources Wales with an imperative to do things differently. In light of this Natural Resources Wales are redesigning their organisation to take account of the opportunities from the Wellbeing & Future Generations Act and the Environmental Act which means being more transparent and engaging.
In regard to the current moratorium on fracking in Wales at present, it was asked what threats or positives were there from fracking taking place in England. We were told that in regard to fracking in England we would look at the evidence and advice Welsh Government on the impact of fracking in Wales based on what the impact would be on the sustainability of natural resources.
A Member spoke of the huge remit of NRW which has a huge impact on everyone’s lives and thanked them for raising awareness of the work they do. It was asked if NRW find being part of the PSB a useful tool.
The Member responsible for the Agri Urban project for Abergavenny asked to engage with NRW.
Clarity was sought with reference to the presentation slide ‘green space in Monmouthshire’ we were answered that the template highlighted the clear links between mental wellbeing and access to green space. The Member was keen to discuss this an emerging issue and something to focus on.
A Member asked if the NRW promotes planting trees, why new trees are not planted to coincide with existing tress being felled to create a balance.
In respect of the flood plain plan it was asked where NRW get their data from and how up to date it is. We were told that they use the development advice maps which give the risk on modelled maps and welcome local evidence, the impact of climate change is also being taken into account.
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Committee’s Conclusion:
The Chair thanked Natural Resources Wales for attending the meeting and educating members on the work that they participate in.
In respect to talking about risks may sound a negative but recognising and managing risks is all about taking a preventative approach recognising that the management of natural resources is a shared responsibility.
It provides us at the PSB with a platform to discuss shared interests, collaborate and improve the resilience of our ecosystems so they continue to support wellbeing in Monmouthshire
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Dr Sarah Aitkins – Future Health Wales
The seven well-being goals are our shared goals for the whole of Wales. That is what we aim to achieve through the Well-being of Future Generations Act.
What is really important about them is that they are an integrated whole. That’s why they are illustrated as a jigsaw. For example, action to improve prosperity will have an impact on action to increase environmental resilience, to improve health and to achieve greater equality.
The expectation of the law is that the 44 Public Bodies subject to it will take action to maximise the achievement of all seven goals. At the very least, no action to maximise the achievement of any one goal should undermine the achievement of any other.
Each of the goals is defined in law.
Depending on the time you have available and on any questions asked you may wish to give more detail about how each of the goals is defined i.e.
A prosperous Wales is an innovative, productive and low carbon society which recognises the limits of the global environment and therefore uses resources efficiently and proportionately (including acting on climate change); and which develops a skilled and well-educated population in an economy which generates wealth and provides employment opportunities, allowing people to take advantage of the wealth generated through securing decent work.
A resilient Wales is 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).
A healthier Wales is a society in which people's physical and mental well-being is maximised and in which choices and behaviours that benefit future health are understood.
A more equal Wales is a society that enables people to fulfil their potential no matter what their background or circumstances (including their socio economic background and circumstances).
A Wales or cohesive communities is about attractive, viable, safe and well-connected communities.
A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language is a society that promotes and protects culture, heritage and the Welsh language, and which encourages people to participate in the arts, and sports and recreation.
A globally responsible Wales is a globally responsible Wales. A nation which, when doing anything to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales, takes account of whether doing such a thing may make a positive contribution to global well-being.
The report examined three threats to our Public Health in the context of ‘Future Generations’ in an attempt to answer some of the ‘burning platform’ questions facing our population. How can the type 2 diabetes epidemic be reversed? How can the rise in cancer inequalities be addressed? How can we plan for climate change and its impact on health?
In looking at each issue through the lens of ‘Future Generations’,
This report illustrate this, specifically in relation to three ‘wicked issues’ all three of which will incur cost pressures to society and the public sector including health; Type 2 Diabetes, Cancers and Climate Change. Each of these chapters looks at the current situation, including scale and impact. In each chapter, modifiable risk factors are presented and recommended actions, regarding how to make improvements in the wider determinants of health, are outlined.
The need to create the conditions which increase the likelihood of people, particularly our children and young people, adopting behaviours which contribute to good health and deter them from adopting health behaviours, which are risk factors for poor health in later life, are discussed.
The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act provides a favourable policy context in which to make systems level changes to create supportive environments, develop personal skills, strengthen communities and re-orientate services to improve health (WHO, 1986).
At the end of each chapter, we fast forward to Gwent in 2050, presenting two scenarios depicting events in the lives of a fictional local family (the Jones family), one is a positive scenario and the other is a negative scenario related to the chapter’s topic. Whilst fictional, the scenarios are grounded in reality, based on whether we focus our efforts towards sustainable development in the future, or not.
• How can the type 2 diabetes epidemic be reversed?
• How can the rise in cancer inequalities be addressed?
• How can we plan for climate change and its impact on health?
Member Scrutiny:
In respect to obesity, a member commented that although it has not been discussed at a full Council meeting, discussions have taken place in other meetings throughout the Council and that people had been particularly struck by the childhood obesity issue and the scale of the problem. The Member asked Dr Aitkin what she felt the scale and pace of addressing the issue was. Dr Aitkins spoke of developing an initial action plan during the previous 18 months where they looked at an evidence based list of things that work and whether Monmouthshire were already doing these things. The Member spoke of having a knowledge gap in this area and requested updates on a regular basis to ensure members are informed to carry out scrutiny on this topic.
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Committee’s Conclusion:
It was felt that a healthier Wales would make for a society in which the physical and mental well-being of people is maximised and in which choices and behaviours that benefit future health are understood and supported.
Members felt that regular updates of the action plan going forward were essential to allow them to carry out informed and detailed scrutiny.
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