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NRW’s Marine Programme Board oversees a programme of marine work that is intended to deliver against four key work areas expressed as the programme objectives. The overarching aims and four objectives of the programme are set out below:
Aim 1: To support the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach, to achieve the sustainable management of marine natural resources in Wales.
Aim 2: To align NRW marine work to deliver against Welsh Government priorities, including their Marine transition Programme.
Objective 1: To contribute to the development of the first Wales National Marine Plan (WNMP), providing timely evidence and advice to enable this process to deliver sustainable management of the marine environment, and advising on the relationship with new mechanisms within the Environment Bill and other relevant policy and legislation.
Objective 2: To provide consistent and comprehensive evidence and advice to support the implementation of Marine Strategy Framework Directive, seeking full integration with marine planning in order to delivery tangible ecosystem improvements and benefits.
Objective 3:Contribute to the delivery of an ecologically coherent and well-managed network of Marine Protected Areas by 2016, and that the social and economic benefits of these sites are quantified and enhanced
Objective 4: To support the sustainable management of marine activities, providing input to sectoral planning processes and developing the appropriate evidence base to support decision-making.
2. Marine programme work plan for 2015-16
The annual activities for 2015-16 are detailed below. This includes work with specific deliverables this year. These are organised under each of the four objectives above together with a fifth category for cross-cutting evidence work. There is also a further category for ‘day job’ work that lists ongoing day-to-day work that relates to the objectives of the marine programme and which also absorbs a considerable amount of staff time and resource.
As with the public sector in general, NRW is under considerable resource pressure, and as a result it is not possible to deliver all areas of marine work that should form part of the annual work plan. Key areas of work that is on hold, or significantly slowed or reduced in scope, due to limited resources are also identified.
Objective 1: Marine planning
Objective 2: Marine Strategy Framework Directive
Objective 3: Marine Protected Areas
Objective 4: Managing marine activities
Marine evidence (cross-cutting more than one programme objective)
Day job areas
On hold, or significantly slowed/reduced in scope, due to resource constrains:
Marine planning
MSFD
MPAs
Management of marine activities
Marine evidence
NRW’s Marine Programme Board undertakes quarterly monitoring of progress with delivery of the annual work plan. The work plan is then reviewed and refreshed in full each financial year.