monmouthshire

Environment Partnership Board

Working Together for our Environment

Who We Are 

Led by the County Council, the Monmouthshire Partnership Board brings together representatives of the key organisations responsible for shaping and delivering the environmental content of the county’s Community Strategy. 

The Board first met in 2004 and holds about four meetings a year.  The member organisations are the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, the Countryside Council for Wales, the Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission, the Gwent Wildlife Trust, Monmouthshire County Council (Countryside, Environmental Health, Planning Policy, Sustainability, Transport, Waste),  Monmouthshire GreenWeb, the Monmouthshire Waste Forum, Rural Community Action, SE Wales Energy Trust, and the Wye Valley AONB Committee.  Other organisations are invited to meetings when they will assist the business of the Board.  Sub-groups, often involving other organisations, are formed to pursue particular tasks. 

Our Chair is currently Sue Mabberley of the Countryside Council for Wales, and Monmouthshire GreenWeb is contracted to coordinate the work of the Board. 

The Aims of the Board

• To foster communication between the relevant environmental organisations at a strategic level;

• To help make partnership projects happen and to promote working together for the benefit of the county;

• To assist the identification of environmental needs and action priorities of the people of Monmouthshire;

• To contribute to the environmental aims, priorities and project programme of the evolving Community Strategy;

• To monitor performance in delivering the Strategy and other relevant action programmes.

Reaching the Community 

No wider Environment Partnership has yet been formally established but the Board is aware of the county’s many other community environmental groups.  We keep in touch with them via our member organisations and other forums, using GreenWeb and press releases as a means of communication, and arranging occasional events and an annual conference open to all. 

Notes of the Board’s meetings can be found by clicking here. 

Reports on Board workshops held in April 2006 (starting a review of the Community Strategy, March 2007 (focusing on Waste and Energy projects) and April 2008 (on the draft Community Strategy) can be found by clicking on the relevant months. 

Environmental Priorities for Monmouthshire 

Following the 2006 conference the Board provisionally concluded that the county’s environmental priorities are: 

• To safeguard and improve the global and local condition of the environment by increasing understanding, appreciation and responsible enjoyment of its qualities, and by encouraging contributions to its well being;
• To reduce non-renewable energy consumption through the efficient use of energy and to increase renewable energy consumption;
• To make progress towards making Monmouthshire a ‘zero waste’ county through waste reduction, re-use of waste, recycling and composting;
• To reduce the growth of environmentally damaging vehicle traffic through integrated measures that increase the use of the most sustainable travel modes or reduce the need to travel;
• To maintain, protect and enhance the visual quality, biodiversity and historic value of the urban and rural environments of Monmouthshire;
• To eliminate or reduce other sources of air, land and water pollution in the county.

These priorities build on those of the 2004 Community Strategy and will be fed into the next review. 

Our Key Action Areas 

The Board has identified five key project areas in which it hopes to generate increased collaboration and action, all with an emphasis on developing a focus on citizens’ needs and their participation.  These are:

• Education for Sustainable Development – more coordination and project development;

• Waste - extending the 'zero waste' approach at a community level;

• Energy Efficiency - raising awareness, overcoming barriers and generating community projects;

• Sustainable Transport - better engagement with citizens - e.g. a Transport Forum or events;

• The Rural Landscape - strategic ecological connectivity networks across the landscape.

Board members or sub-groups are following up these topics.

For further information contact the Board's Coordinator - GreenWeb's Sue Parkinson