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MARINE CONSERVATION ZONE PROJECT WALES
STEERING GROUP MEETING
Thursday 7 OCTOBER 2010
Welsh Assembly Government Offices, Brunel House,
Cardiff.
1:30pm- 4:30pm
Minutes
Present:
Chris Lea -Acting Chair- Head of Sustainability and Environmental Evidence Division, WAG
Stephen Hawkins –Chair of Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
Lynda Warren - Chair of Stakeholder and Citizen Engagement Group (SCEG)
Graham Rees -Head of Fisheries Unit, WAG
Ceri Davies - Head of Strategy - Environment Agency, Wales
Michel Regelous - Plan Manager - Welsh Local Government Association
John Goold - Marine Director, JNCC
Keith Davies - Head of Environment Policy Group, CCW
John Hamer- Marine Advice Section Head, CCW (observer)
Dean Chapman - Spatial Plan Area Co-ordinator, WAG
Julia Williams -Marine Branch, WAG
Louise George -Marine Branch, WAG
Viv Collins - WAG Secretariat
Apologies
Matthew Quinn, Sian Rees, Steve Spode, Jarlath Costello, Rosemary Thomas, Nigel Adams, Rhodri Griffiths, David Parker.
Summary of Actions
a. (Viv) Send all papers to those not in attendance.
b. (Louise) to amend preface to reflect agreed changes.
c. (Louise) to include more annotated flow diagram for Fig.1 .
d. (Louise) to insert paragraph at the end of the preface on the wider context of the process including NEF and check glossary.
e. All Members to submit final comments including textual points to Louise George by Friday 15 October.
Welcome and introduction
1. Chris Lea welcomed members to the 2nd Steering Group meeting.
Site selection guidance – to consider the recommendations from the Technical Advisory Group with a view to endorsing for issue for a period of public comment
Context and background
2. Julia Williams provided a summary of the background of the MCZ Project in Wales using the new powers under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 for designating MCZs. In Wales the intention is to use the new powers to designate a small number of highly protected MCZs where they would be protected from the extraction and deposition of living and non-living resources, and all other damaging or disturbing activities. These sites in addition to our existing marine protected areas would meet our contribution towards a UK ecologically coherent network.
3. The approach and focus in Wales is different from that of the Regional Projects established by Defra and Marine Scotland, in that, in Wales we have established a government led process to focus on the selection of highly protected sites for the benefits of wider ecosystem functioning, recovery and resilience.
MCZ Site Selection Guidance
4. Stephen Hawkins introduced the Guidance paper noting his endorsement as Chair of the TAG. The Guidance consists of 4 main areas; a preface, ecological guidelines, social and economic considerations and the overall process with timeframes. He thanked Kirsten Ramsay and Jennifer Lawson from CCW for their assistance with the ecological guidelines. The views of the Steering Group were now sought.
Preface
5. It was commented that the preface sets out the Welsh Assembly Government’s position well. The key principles within paragraph 8 were discussed and it was suggested that the wording within ‘8b’ be changed to ‘no more than about 3-4’ and these would need to be monitored and evaluated.
ACTION: Louise George to amend preface to reflect agreed changes.
Ecological guidelines
6. Eleven ecological criteria had been adopted by the WAG based on the OSPAR guidelines. These criteria have been used by the TAG to develop the ecological guidelines. In developing the guidelines the TAG has hosted 3 meetings and 1 workshop.
7. Stephen Hawkins explained that the ecological guidelines will be applied in 2 phases. The first phase would identify Focus Areas by allocating scores based on the way in which they incorporate the broadscale and important habitats. It is anticipated that this will result in between 15 to 25 Focus Areas. In Phase 2, expert judgement would be applied to these sites to determine a smaller number of Potential Sites - between 6 to12 sites. A potential site had to be viable in its own right and there had to be diversity in terms of species and a minimum patch size. This phased approached was support by the SG.
8. Site size - paragraph 2.5 of the guidelines states a minimum site size of 5km² which would be useful for the SG to consider. There were some concerns from the SG with having a stated minimum size but it was accepted that this would be useful when undertaking screening. A case was put forward for decisions on site size to be taken on what was needed to be protected and why. It was agreed to amend the ecological guidelines to reflect discussion at SG
9. Distance between sites – there were concerns within the SG about the recommendation for required distance between potential sites. It was felt that this implied that areas between sites were barren and that the wording around this required review. Given that Wales has an extensive existing suite of marine protected areas it was agreed to amend this guideline so that the proximity of sites and relevance to each other would become a matter of expert judgement during phase 2.
Social and Economic Considerations
10. Members agreed that overall they were content with the chapter on social and economic considerations and the stages set out in the overall process. It was agreed that a detailed flowchart for all the key stages of site selection would be beneficial to assist the reader in working through the process.
ACTION: Louise George to include more annotated flow diagram for Fig 1.
11. The SG recommended that reference to the National Environment Framework (NEF) Project should be included within the Guidance paper. It was also agreed to ensure consistency within the glossary and NEF with regards to ecosystems and ecosystem functioning.
ACTION: Louise George to insert paragraph at the end of the preface on the wider context of the process including NEF and check glossary.
ACTION: For all members to submit final comments, including textual points, to Louise George by Friday 15 October.
Update from the Stakeholder and Citizens Engagement Group
12. Lynda Warren, the Chair of the Stakeholder and Citizens Engagement Group (SCEG) provided an update. The last meeting of the SCEG was held on 23 June and was productive. Membership issues, such as the inclusion of representatives from various fishing organisations were considered. The next meeting would be held on 1 November where the main business of the meeting will be the Site Selection Guidance. The Chair will also be able to provide feedback and links to the newly established UK MPA Stakeholder Forum, that she is also involved with.
Update on next steps and key milestones
13. Louise George explained the next steps for finalising the Site Selection Guidance - once cleared by the SG, the Guidance will be shared externally with stakeholders and placed on the website for a period of comment. The plan is to finalise the guidance by the end of the year but this will depend upon the feedback received from the period of public comment which will inform whether it’s necessary to convene further meetings of TAG or the SG. Responses to the document would be circulated electronically to TAG and SG members.
14. CCW should be in a position to start developing the Focus Areas in January/February. A meeting of the TAG would be held following this to apply Phase 2 of the ecological guidance and start to consider some of the social and economic filters. It is therefore envisaged that the next SG meeting would be held in March/April 2011, with the intention to share the first iteration of sites with stakeholders in May/June 2011 when a three month consultation would be conductedhowever this is subject to change depending upon requirements of the pre-election period.
Any other business
15. None.
Date of next meeting
16. To be arranged.
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