1.
Severn Estuary Partnership
Working in partnership for the future of the Severn Estuary
Severn Estuary Partnership review and update
Shelley Vince
Severn Estuary Partnership Officer
http://www.severnestuary.net/sep/
severn@cardiff.ac.uk
#SEForum2014 @SevernEstuary

2.
The Severn Estuary

3.
The Severn Estuary

4.
Background to Severn Estuary Partnership
•An independent, estuary wide initiative, led by local authorities and statutory agencies (1995)
•The Partnership provides an interface between organisations and the public, disseminates information and promotes stakeholder involvement
•Integrated view of issues, policies and proposals for action
•Support for a wide range of estuary groups
•Aims, objectives and plans for 2011 to 2016 are set out in our Strategic Business Plan
•More immediate actions are outlined in yearly Action Plans

5.
Role of the Partnership
The Severn Estuary Partnership Aims:
•To facilitate effective communication across and between organisations and individuals
•To establish and embed a set of ‘common principles’ for sustainable estuary use via Partners’ strategies, policies and action plans
•To act as a co-ordinating body to assist the effective & efficient delivery of agreed estuary-wide actions
•To promote and publicise the estuary at local, national and international level
•To add value and fill gaps in effective estuary management, providing extra capacity when required.

6.
Main Area of Interest

7.
Information Provision:
• Contacts Database
• Web-based ‘Who Does
What’ Guide
How Do We Do This?
Joint Advisory Committee
Management Group
SEP Staff Team
Secretariat:
SECG, ASERA, BCSEG
Publications:
•Website
•Severn Tidings
•Monthly E-News
•Information leaflets
•State of the Severn report and report cards
Projects:
•COREPOINT (IIIB): promoting Integrated Coastal Management
•IMCORE (IVB): Climate change adaptation and scenarios in Europe
•DeltaNET: sharing estuary best practice in Europe
•Beacons: climate change adaptation outreach in Wales and England
Facilitate Public Consultation Processes:
SMP2, Marine Conservation
Attend meetings and events, respond to consultations and emphasise need for co-ordination and joint working

8.
SEP Core Functions
Internal Functions:
•Management Group Meetings
•Joint Advisory Committee Meetings
•Annual Forum
•Joint Estuary Day Communications:
•Severn Tidings
•E News
•Website
•Social Media – Facebook and Twitter (@SevernEstuary) Joint Estuary Groups:
•Association of Severn Estuary Relevant Authorities (ASERA)
•Severn Estuary Coastal Group (SECG)
•Bristol Channel Standing Environment Group (BCSEG)

9.
Projects and Consultations
Projects: State of the Severn Estuary
•State of the Severn Estuary Report 2011
•Topic specific report cards
•Annual updates published on the Severn Estuary Partnership website in the ‘Estuary Pages’ http://www.severnestuary.net/sep/estuary.html Consultations: Ongoing role disseminating consultation information from around the Estuary through the consultations section of the Severn Estuary Partnership website and monthly e-news.
•Marine Planning
•Local Development Plans

10.
Projects work
Ongoing Core Activities: secretariat and communication functions
Consultation Responses
WG WNMP engagement
E-news development
Joint Estuary Day
Engagement Activities
State of the Severn updates
Engagement Activities
The Year in Review
There’s a lot going on!
Forum Preparation
Severn Estuary Forum
SEP Action Plan Development
SEP Network Development
Website development
Joint Estuary Day

11.
Future Direction
Partnership Development
•Strategy for the Severn Estuary
•Strategic Business Plan to identify where SEP needs to be in 5 years time (2017-2021)
Engagement
•Developing SEP communication tools
•Facilitating consultations such as Marine Planning
•Raising awareness of development proposals such as tidal power
Project Opportunities
•Wales Coastal Directory
•Funding from Europe - Horizon 2020
•Workshop facilitation and stakeholder engagement - Balancing economic, social and environmental challenges in the Severn Estuary

12.
Concluding thoughts
•Severn Estuary Partnership acts as a coordinating body to establish a set of ‘principles’ for the estuary and promote and publicise the estuary at national and international level by facilitating effective communication across and between organisations and individuals.
•The past year has been a busy one for project proposals and the development of government policies focusing on the marine and coastal sector. As projects and policies develop, the Severn Estuary Partnership continues to plays an important role in the management of the Severn Estuary.
•Key priorities for SEP over the coming year include refreshing the Strategy for the Severn Estuary, updating of the Partnership’s Strategic Business Plan, developing the SEP website and communications, and collaborating with various estuary stakeholders on a range of projects.

13.
Thank you!
Thank you!
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The Severn Estuary Forum 2014 is sponsored by: