The Welsh Government has designated its first Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) in the waters around Skomer Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire. Skomer Island was originally designated as a Marine Nature Reserve in 1990 but this designation is automatically altered to an MCZ due to the commencement of provisions in the Marine and Coastal Access Act […]
A new report has been produced by the Social and Economic Assessment Sub-Group of the Productive Seas Evidence Group (PSEG), which is one of the 4 evidence groups set up as part of the UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy (UKMMAS). The report – ‘Social and Economic Assessment Requirements for Development Projects Affecting the Marine Environment’ reviews […]
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) commissinoed NIRAS Consulting Limited, supported by AMEC, to develop a consistent approach to the identification and consideration of cumulative effects that could be applied at the strategic level across all relevant MMO functions. They were asked to look at cumulative effects of marine activities across the strategic, regional and individual project level. The […]
The Solent Forum has issued its newsletter for winter 2014/2015. The content includes a wide range of news from around the Solent as well as relevant national news and items on the work of the Solent Forum itself. It introduces the new Solent Forum Chairman, Peter Barham and covers issues such as development of the South Marine Plan […]
In the near future households located with areas prone to high risk of flooding will be better protected against increasing insurance costs through Flood Re. Flood Re has come one step closer to implementation after the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Flood Re agreed in December 2014 how the scheme will operate, enabling legislation […]
On the 11th December 2014 the draft National Marine Plan for Scottish waters was submitted to Scottish Parliament. The plan will be critically examined during a 40 day period by parliament and Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee (RACCE). The plan covers Scotland’s inshore and offshore waters, with the primary aim to manage human […]
The Treasury plans to help fund 1400 flood defence projects across England over the next six years. The Treasury will spend a £2.3 billion budget on flood defence infrastructure for 300,000 homes. Areas vulnerable to flooding such as the Thames Estuary, Humber Estuary and Somerset will be targeted for major investment to reduce the impacts of […]
The Royal Society has published a report entitled “Resilience to extreme weather”. The report examines how we reduce the impacts of extreme weather events and how prepared we are for future climate change. Climate-related extreme events such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves are documented in relation to human resilience. International agreements will be reached to […]
The Scottish Government has announced it is to creat a new new wave energy technology development body – Wave Energy Scotland. It will bring together expertise from engineering and academia to collaborate on innovative projects to accelerate the development of wave technology. Scottish waters offer the majority of the UK’s wave resources – potentially 46 TWh/year. For more […]
National Resource Wales (NRW) has recently produced an evidence report entitled “Welsh Coastal Storms, December 2013 & January 2014 – An assessment of environmental change”. The report is based on an environmental audit conducted by NRW to assess the impacts of last winter’s high tide/storm surge events on wildlife and coastal conservation sites in Wales. […]