Introduction to the corporate plan to 2022

The natural environment of Wales is exceptional and inspiring. It is the foundation for our health, well-being and prosperity. It provides the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. It provides energy and raw materials. It is essential to our way of life – providing jobs, leisure and relaxation, and attractive places for us to live, work and enjoy. It is part of our culture, our history and our future. We can’t live without it – but all too often, we take it for granted.

The benefits that the environment and natural resources of Wales provide are under pressure from human activity. Biodiversity is declining. Ecosystems are becoming less resilient and less able to adapt to challenges such as climate change. Yet natural resources can help address many of the issues we’re facing–flooding can be mitigated by tree planting, which also improves air pollution and provides green areas for people to enjoy; well-managed soils can improve water quality, store carbon and continue to grow food. There are huge opportunities to improve everyone’s lives –but this can only happen if the natural environment is managed sustainably and recognised for the benefits it provides. This is vital for the future – to enhance the natural environment and secure the well-being of future generations.

Things need to change – and we can all make this happen by living and working differently.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is proud to be leading this change.

In March 2017 we published our first set of long-term Well-being Objectives (WBOs) building on our first State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR),which set the baseline and links the resilience of Welsh natural resources to the well-being of the people of Wales. These show how natural resources can continue to benefit the health and well-being of the people of Wales for the future – if those resources are managed sustainably. There are plenty of challenges ahead: climate change, the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, austerity and an ageing population, to name but a few. Managing Wales’ natural resources sustainably and ensuring ecosystems are resilient can help address some of these challenges, and we are ready to make this a reality.

Meeting our Well-being Objectives will be a long-term challenge but vital for the future. We’re near the start of the journey: we’ve already made progress, we’re learning along the way and we’re ambitious about what we want to achieve as NRW, supporting our own staff and working in partnership with many others throughout Wales.

NRW is moving to an exciting new chapter with this Corporate Plan. It will be taken forward by our new Chief Executive, Clare Pillman, building on the first five years with our first Chief Executive, Emyr Roberts, and with Kevin Ingram as our interim Chief Executive.This Corporate Plan sets out the next stage of our journey. We hope you find it inspiring and ambitious – and look forward to working with you towards a more sustainable Wales which will provide prosperity for all.

Our Well-being Objectives demonstrate how we want to contribute to the goals set out in the Well-being of Future Generations Act (Wales) 2015. Here we look at each of our Well-being Objectives (WBOs) in turn. Achieving them will require integrated and collaborative working across the public, private and voluntary sectors as well as with individuals.

For each WBO, we will explain:

• Where we are now- the current situation in Wales
• Where we want to be long-term-both for Wales and in NRW. This is looking 20-25 years in to the future and beyond the timespan of this Corporate Plan
• What NRW will do up to 2022 to make this happen-examples of actions we will take over the timespan of this Corporate Plan to make progress towards achieving the WBOs