Terms of reference

The purpose of this document is to set out the function, composition, responsibilities and operating arrangements of the Wales Coasts and Seas Partnership (CaSP Cymru).

CaSP Cymru has replaced the previous Wales Marine Action and Advisory Group (WMAAG) which was formed in 2014 to provide overarching strategic advice in developing the Marine Transition Plan. 

The group is now a partnership of stakeholders who are committed to working collaboratively to achieve our shared vision as set out in the Welsh National Marine Plan and specifically the Shared Narrative, see Annex A. 

The Partnership brings together a broad range of strategic interest groups to facilitate collaboration across the marine and coastal sector to:

1. Ensure effective and meaningful engagement in relation to the delivery of Welsh Government’s ambition for clean, healthy, sustainably managed, and biologically diverse seas. 
2. Maintain oversight of action across Welsh Government and the wider Partnership, and share information across their stakeholder networks.
3. Focus on three specific enabling actions at all levels to support the sustainable use of our marine ecosystems and resources and enhance the benefits they offer:

• ocean literacy: building understanding of how people, communities and businesses across Wales connect with Welsh coasts and seas, the impact of our collective and individual actions on the ocean’s health and how the ocean’s health impacts our everyday lives, leading to improvements in how we manage and use our coasts and seas
• sustainable investment: securing innovative and longer-term forms of public, private and blended finance will help deliver key objectives, including restoring Marine Protected Areas and transforming socio-economic systems
• building capacity: enabling collaboration and co-production to encourage co-ordinated action, locally within our communities, nationally, and cross border, to respond to changing needs and conditions as the pressures on our coasts and seas increase

The Partnership will work together, and with partners, stakeholders, and local communities, to deliver these three themes through a programme of work, to underpin our vision and ambitions for resilient coasts and seas. 

The Partnership will collaboratively identify, facilitate, and deliver actions and outputs to achieve the purpose and high-level aims.

These outputs include:

• developing and delivering a Wales Ocean Literacy strategy and action plan focussing on fostering and enhancing an understanding of the importance of our seas and their stewardship
• developing a long-term funding model to support delivery of actions to build the resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems and sectors
• developing and delivering a flexible model for meaningful engagement with coastal communities at a local level to enable the identification of impacts on communities, and bottom-up solutions, projects and opportunities, and the identification of evidence needs to facilitate sustainable development

The Partnership will also seek to deliver the Biodiversity Deep Dive recommendations relevant to the marine environment as identified.

The Partnership will share information on activity in the marine environment, and provide feedback, comment and advice on relevant Welsh Government policies as required.

The Partnership is the overarching Marine stakeholder group for the Marine and Biodiversity Division of the Welsh Government, who will provide the Secretariat, and track and record progress on the aims, objectives, and outputs. 

The group is led by a publicly appointed Chair, who will report to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs.

The Partnership will embody the five ways of working of the Well-being of Future Generations Act: collaboration, integration, involvement, long term, and prevention.

The membership aims to:

• be as inclusive as possible ensuring appropriate representation from all who have an interest in the marine area of Wales (business sectors e.g. energy, fishing, community, environment, local government, recreation, and leisure)
• ensure a balance between interest groups and geographical coverage while keeping the group to a manageable size

It is anticipated that core Partnership members will have a pan Wales geographical coverage or remit, or represent an area of national expertise. Membership of Working or Task and Finish groups is encouraged from wider stakeholders outside of the core Partnership membership (see below).

See Annex B for current membership.

Members must:

• represent the views of Welsh stakeholders and their sector, bringing forward any issues arising 
• communicate and disseminate key information to stakeholder networks, and
• actively contribute to achieving the aims, objectives, and outputs of the Partnership in whatever capacity they can

CaSP Cymru full partnership meetings will be held three times per year with the aim to hold these in February, June and October.  Meetings will be a blend of online and in-person meetings.

Working Groups have been  established to progress the three themes of action set out in the Purpose and Aims section above. Groups will be chaired and run by members of the Partnership, reporting back to the full group. 

Groups can determine the frequency of their meetings, with an expectation of meeting at least once between each full Partnership meeting.

The current groups are:

• Ocean Literacy Working Group, led by Natural Resources Wales
• Sustainable Investment Working Group, led by the Marine Conservation Society
• Building Capacity Working Group, led by current CaSP Cymru Chair
• a Marine Biodiversity Expert Group, convened by Natural Resource Wales

A Management Group consisting of the Chair, Secretariat and Working Group leads will also meet to oversee CaSP Cymru’s Delivery Plan.

Task and Finish Groups may be set up for a defined period to undertake a specific task and will be disbanded once the task has been completed. Examples of these are the MARINE Fund Task and Finish Group, under the Blue Investment Working Group.

Towards Marine Resilience in Wales

Following the worst of the Covid pandemic marine and fisheries stakeholders, who were the Wales Marine Action and Advisory Group, came together to consider how best to support sustainable development actions to both help coastal communities to recover, and to achieve our vision of Welsh seas that are clean, healthy, safe, productive, and biologically diverse. 

Our coasts and seas make a significant contribution to our lives and well-being. The Welsh Marine Zone doubles the size of Wales. Being a coastal nation, our coasts, seas and fishing heritage are a vital part of our culture and language. Intrinsically, our seas are awesome places, home to an array of fascinating habitats and wonderful sea creatures. The sea’s natural resources and ecosystems provide biodiversity, renewable energy, healthy protein, carbon storage, building materials, and support fishing and aquaculture, tourism, recreation and cultural inspiration as well as health benefits and global connectivity.

Resilient marine ecosystems, underpinned by thriving habitats and species, are fundamental to both nature and socio-economic recovery. The improved benefits we would get from restored and recovered habitats include increased fish and shellfish production, improved coastal protection, further opportunities for sustainable businesses, and greater capacity for adaptation to climate change. 

These ecosystems and the benefits they provide are under pressure from our increased use of natural resources, pollution and climate change. In addition, we cannot deny the need to move away from burning fossil fuels for energy and towards renewable forms of energy which can be generated in abundance from our seas. It is essential that the way we manage our natural resources in Wales respects both the climate and nature emergencies, balancing the opportunities with the impacts on biodiversity and communities.

In Wales, we have many existing approaches, people and projects seeking to support marine ecosystems and the benefits we receive from them. However, we need to do more, and we need to do it faster, using our resources effectively. Three areas of work have been identified to accelerate and enable action for our environment, economy, social and cultural well-being:

• ocean literacy: building understanding of how people, communities and businesses across Wales connect with Welsh coasts and seas, the impact of our collective and individual actions on the ocean’s health and how the ocean’s health impacts our everyday lives, leading to improvements in how we manage and use our coasts and seas
• sustainable investment: securing innovative and longer-term forms of public, private and blended finance will help deliver key objectives, including restoring Marine Protected Areas and transforming socio-economic systems
• building capacity: enabling collaboration and co-production to encourage co-ordinated action, locally within our communities, nationally and cross border, to respond to changing needs and conditions as the pressures on our coasts and seas increase

Over the next three years, the renamed Wales Coasts and Seas Partnership will work together, and with partners, stakeholders, and local communities, to identify and deliver these three themes through a programme of work, to underpin our vision and ambitions for resilient coasts and seas. 

Aquaculture    

• Bangor Mussels 
• Aquaculture Industry Wales 

Aggregates    

• British Marine Aggregates Association 
• Seabed Users and Developers Group

Coastal communities/Community based groups    

• Cragen Llŷn a Môn 
• Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum 
• Pwllheli Partnership 
• Severn Estuary Partnership  
• Severn Vision 
• One Voice Wales 
• Welsh Local Government Association

Fishing    

• Seafish 
• Welsh Fishermen’s Association

Historic / Archaeological    

• Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales

Multi-Sector    

• The Crown Estate

Nature Conservation and Biodiversity    

• Joint Nature Conservation Committee 
• Marine Conservation Society  
• Natural Resources Wales 
• RSPB  
• Keep Wales Tidy     
• Wales Environment Link 
• Wildlife Trusts Wales 
• WWF 

Ports and Shipping    

• British Ports Association 
• Milford Haven Port Authority