Contextual change

2009 seems a long time ago.

Twitter

2009 - 18 Million Users (3.8% of adult Internet users.) Facebook – 175 million users

2012 - 140 million users (29.5%) and sees 340 million tweets per day. Facebook over 1 billion users

So, the way we communicate is changing rapidly

2009 - Growth rate (GDP) – minus 4.4% average

2012 – Growth rate (GDP) – minus 0.025% average

2009 - Unemployment 2.47 million

2012 – Unemployment 2.53 million

2009 - Public sector debt about £600 million

2012 – Public sector debt about £1.3 trillion

Different governments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Consequently with new governments in place we are now working with

  • different policies,
  • different ministers, and
  • different wishes and expectations.

In England and Wales we have seen significant changes to the country agencies and in England AONBs have moved much closer to Defra.

Defra priorities

  • Support and develop British farming and encourage sustainable food production

Drivers – CAP reform

  • Enhance the environment and biodiversity to improve quality of life

Drivers – NEWP (LNPs and NIAs), Biodiversity 2020,

  • Support a strong and sustainable green economy, including thriving rural communities, resilient to climate change
  • Drivers – Heseltine Report (no stone unturned), Local Enterprise Partnerships - Where local enterprise partnerships exist, AONB plans need to make the connection. Defra will increasingly have to demonstrate how the funding they provide to all of the bodies they support is helping to promote economic growth. Heseltine report on growth (no stone unturned)

Welsh government

  • Sustainable development
  • Resilient ecosystems
  • Health and well-being (environmental justice)

Drivers – One Wales: One Planet, Natural Resources Wales, Sustaining a Living Wales

Plus the debates surrounding the planning white paper, including the emerging environment bill, SD bill, and heritage bill

Northern Ireland Executive

  • Growing a sustainable economy
  • Improving health and wellbeing
  • Work towards halting biodiversity loss

Then you have the overarching drivers such as the UK National Ecosystem Assessment, and the TEEB Report

Questions

  • How are you going to build in the work by NE on NCAs (English AONBs)?
  • How are you going to reference tourism?
  • How are you going to better portray the AONB designation as an enabling designation rather than red tape?
  • How are you going to build in monitoring and evaluation making best use of the work that NE is doing?
  • Probably, most significantly, how are you going to articulate the notion of natural beauty such that it relates meaningfully to scenic beauty and has any traction in relation to the current planning framework?

So, lots of questions set against a backdrop of new policy drivers. We need to better articulate the role of the AONB designation, and value of not only the landscape but the designation as a tool to conserve and enhance it, within the context of wider political priorities.

But we have some opportunities

we have collectively, as an AONB Family agreed a set of shared objectives – how do we use them better?

1. Support policies for conserving and enhancing natural beauty

2. Develop an understanding of AONBs and the issues they face

3. Improve the way in which AONB partnerships and the NAAONB work together

4. Secure and manage resources

Whilst 1. May be a given, 2. And 3. haven’t had a great deal of prominence in past plans. Essentially how will the new plans capture the value of collaboration?

In relation to 4. There is a question over how the AONB plan relates to the business plan of the AONB unit (where that exists)

But, let’s not lose sight of what we are here to do

We need AONB plans that

  • inspire us and challenge us,
  • move the agenda on,
  • are flexible enough to capitalise on new and unexpected opportunities,
  • are developed collaboratively, not just consulted upon,
  • have real traction when it comes to effecting change on the ground
  • stimulating exciting projects that help us push the boundaries, influence policy and change behaviours
  • Written in a language that people will understand
  • That really explains why we are doing what we do – not focus entirely on what we are doing, or how we intend to do it, but why we are doing it. We need buy in and we will only get that by explaining why we do what we do.
  • Most of all show some real leadership in the field of landscape management. We have a far more prominent platform than we have ever had before. We need to rise to the occasion.