Through collaboration - land managers, industry players (welsh water), conservation, community members, volunteers. Welsh Government - share work doing with the industry outside - communication tells other sectors what they're doing, better comms to other sectors (via NRW? plans for future and what they're doing to improve water quality). Create drivers to bring in industry, more acceptable for other players to come in and do more, involve others. Look at what is happening locally and on a larger scale, Wales-wide and different areas, awareness of ongoing projects on a broader scale than just Wales. Include industry, developers, further up catchment, integrate with natural flood management etc. developers, consultants, public sector developers need to know what works - need to have incentives/encouragement, things people know that work. Pressure from communities, get buy-in from locals invested in protecting their environment. Replicate approach e.g. beach clean enthusiasm for other issues. Through aquaculture, small-scale aquaculture.
Barriers
Overcome barriers
Actions we can commit to
complicated issues/ rules/ multiple subjects
Anne - people report pollution incidents to NRW but resources mean we're not always able to investigate in time - by the time staff get there often too late
Potential opportunity for citizen scientists to contribute here?
Consenting seaweed or shellfish aquaculture, to establish the value or not as a nature based solution
understanding of what causes bad water quality amongst communities is limited. diffuse pollution, CSOs etc alien to many
Not knowing what is happening with regards to legislation. Ultimately its Welsh Government that needs to act here. Having a national body interact at a local scale is difficult. Has WG been involved in this event?
Potentially pre approved test areas for this?
Barrier regarding sewage-related water quality: Data appears to be lacking. Surfers Against Sewage Safer Seas app (discharge alert service) could be really useful to raise awareness and spur public pressure. But most beaches don't have data for alerts or only have monitoring in the bathing season (which doesn't align with a lot of sea-use) https://www.sas.org.uk/map/
e.g. ...
yes seasonality about water quality for bathing waters is out of date. People swim year round. Also not all places people swim are technically classed as 'bathing waters'. Many people swim after extreme rainfall events. And many end up having gastro challenges
I did a SWEPT follow-up with PCNPA on the open coast Oct 2020. write-up to come but it will highlight runoff issues (N+P) off the open coast.
Paul Renfro - clear effective, appropriate and enforced regulation good starting point.
This is underway - new agriculture bill will allow clearer regulation. Needs to be enforceable and appropriate.
Moving away from enforcing to prevention
Kath Wellard - make easier for people to try new things e.g. consenting system, Marine licencing, people (developers, consultants), can suggest different ideas, change if they don't work, flexibility. Adaptive management. Rarely happens in practise due to cautious approach in conservation and management
Kath Wellard - make easier for people to try new things e.g. consenting system, Marine licencing, people (developers, consultants), can suggest different ideas, change if they don't work, flexibility. Adaptive management. Rarely happens in practise due to cautious approach in conservation and management
Paul Renfro - nature based solutions complex but can deliver lots benefits, need more support and help to be used as pilots on a larger scale to figure out if it works or not.
Anne Bunker - economic position farmers (particularly dairy sector) expanding herds because no way can survive, no "carrot" enticing them to do something different e.g. large stream bank corridors per number of cattle, no incentive
Nicola Gandy - include incentives to reduce impact on water quality. Talk to supermarkets and other purchasers from agriculture to move this
Jetske Germing - additional benfits to link up
Sue Burton - farmers forced down road, ultimately consumer that has the power to drive that change. Relevant comms need to be widespread, need to involve everyone on a community level to encourage behaviour change to then in turn drive the change
Re dairy wider sharing of good practice or schemes like First Milk in H/West, big up those are trying to do the right thing.
https://www.eepecobank.co.uk/reports/review-and-analysis-of-pembrokeshire-case-studies/
Sue Burton - Increase awareness of these issues as well as things such as plastic pollution, go back to what we eat - sustainable in the way we use the land. Starting to see in documentaries
Kath Wellard - link up with other schemes - area plans and marine plans need to link up better, how marine area plan links to Wales Marine Plan etc.
Sue Burton - Work with Pembs Nature Partnership, funding cut off due to marine/terrestrial breaks. Seperation of marine and terrestrial, funding needs to be less segregated.
Kath Wellard - ridge to reef management
Paul Renfro - better price for farmers - clear regulation. Waryness to work with farmers tarnished as pollutors, for farmers to clearly say they are at and above regulations, can then enter schemes which would get them the reward. Supply chain resilience.
NRW - be clear when things full - things at capacity. e.g. with Wye river, phosphurus. Are things full from NRW point of view, of nutrients, bring together right people to fix things. Be clear when things hit a point
The approach just used on the Wye River should be considered for any designated body of water with issues around nutrient loading including coastal.
NRW's Press Release
https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/news-and-events/news/nrw-issues-new-advice-to-safeguard-the-river-wye-special-area-of-conservation/?lang=en
NRW's Regulatory Position Statement
https://cdn.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/media/692794/regulatory-position-statement.pdf?mode=pad&rnd=132526739280000000
NRW's Planning Position Statement
https://cdn.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/media/692795/planning-position-statement.pdf?mode=pad&rnd=132526740750000000
https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/area-statements/sector-specific-information/area-statements-and-opportunity-catchments/?lang=en Opportunity Catchments will hopefully be an opportunity to tackle some of the issues being highlighted today. It's just beginning to come into being. Emma.Taylor@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk is leading the Cleddau & Milford Haven Opportunity Catchment and Leila.Thornton@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk is leading on the Swansea Bay Opportunity Catchment (both work in the terrestrial Area Statement Team for the SW). Very keen to engage with external partners to explore and implement new approaches to water quality on a catchment basis.
Teams Julian Orchard: Need to take care when involving consumers as they are likely to be price sensitive at the moment eg paying more for milk to improve farm runoff. Need to try to encourage the supermarkets to to pay the extra without mentioning passing on the cost to consumers!
Teams chat - Dan ward: This is more related to earlier points but I would say an important area is developing a shared idea of whats possible and the benefits of it across multiple stakeholder groups. Many stakeholders are so used to degraded environments they don't have an idea of what an improved environment would actually look like and what that might entail in their day to day lives. This could be the amount of fishing needed to get a good catch, through to watering issues of dairy herds in summer for example