The Welsh Government is drafting a national marine plan to conserve coastal regions in South Wales. What effect will this have on Welsh seas and people?
The Welsh Government launched a national marine plan on Tuesday to ensure that Welsh coasts and its wildlife have a more sustainable future.
The Welsh National Marine Plan (WNMP) will be implemented over the next 20 years to coastal area of Wales in both the inshore and offshore regions.
“Welsh seas cover approximately 15,000 km2 and make up 43% of the area of Wales, with over 60% of the population living and working at the coast. The marine environment provides a wealth of benefits supporting the well-being of coastal communities and wider society,” said a spokesperson from the Welsh Government.
Diverse wildlife settle in Cardiff Bay.Though the plan is currently in its drafting stage, the Welsh coastline brings many benefits to the local economy.
Wales’ seas provide support for tourism, bring leisure to local people, provide diverse and natural resources for fishery and shipping, and generate renewable energy for economic development.
For local people, Cardiff Bay is an attractive spot for leisure.Officers at the Welsh Government claim that there are ongoing social issues.
“Our seas are becoming increasingly crowded, leading to competing demands for space and use of our natural resources. We are committed to sustainably managing our marine natural resources to be healthy and resilient so future generations can benefit from the significant economic and social opportunities they offer.”
The government has considered a wide range of topics as a series of general policies to implement into its plan. Examples include: nature conservation, water quality, sustainable use, seascapes and coastal communities.
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The video says that it has three goals to achieve:
・Sustainable jobs: the plan will set out related business in seas and provide diverse job opportunities and job service for fishermen, shipbuilders and turbine manufacturers.
・Natural resource management: It finds the a balance between the economy development and environment considerations to protect sea lives and natural habitats.
・Quality of life: utilize more distances of shore of the sea and develop the tourism and recreational activities for local people.
WNMP also contains sector policies, which includes aquaculture, defence, fisheries, renewable energy, shipping, subsea cabling, surface wastewater, tourism and recreation.
“Marine planning is a new approach [the Welsh government are taking] to look after our seas – just like on land, planning enables us to consider the needs of current and future generations.”
The consultation of Welsh National Marine Plan is on going until 29 March 2018. More information can be seen here: https://beta.gov.wales/draft-welsh-national-marine-plan
