Management
Site management
The site management scheme addresses threats to the Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries EMS, a vital area for wildlife, by guiding collaborative action to protect its designated habitats and species.
The Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries EMS contains a diverse range of special, rare and threatened species and habitats from which we all benefit in a variety of ways.
There is a lot of human activity within the site and so management is required to look at the interactions between people, our changing climate and our natural environment, to protect these and give them the best chance of thriving.
There are lots of organisations that have a legal responsibility for doing this and so their work needs to be coordinated to have the best impact.
Competent and Relevant Authorities
Competent Authorities are any organisation or individual that has a statutory role in the UK – these organisations and authorities have a legal responsibility to help safeguard the features of the SAC in undertaking their work and thereby achieve the aims of the Habitats Directive. Relevant authorities are a sub-set of the competent authorities with specific responsibilities in the marine environment. On many marine SACs, including Carmarthen Bay & Estuaries, these authorities work closely together as a relevant authorities group.
The Relevant Authorities for Carmarthen Bay & Estuaries EMS are:
Swansea Council
Carmarthenshire County Council
Pembrokeshire County Council
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority
Saundersfoot Harbour Authority
Natural Resources Wales
Trinity House
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water
It is extremely important that these organisations work together as the marine environment is a shared responsibility. The Carmarthen Bay & Estuaries SAC relevant authorities meet as a working group approximately every four to six months. By working collaboratively, we can share our ideas and knowledge across the site, which helps to make sure that any management issues are dealt with effectively and consistently.
Management plan
The Relevant Authorities have worked together to produce a Management Plan for the EMS. The aim of the Management Plan is to identify what needs to be done in order to safeguard the features of the EMS. The Management Plan is underpinned by the sites Conservation Objectives that have been produced by NRW.
The Management Plan is linked with NRWs Actions Database, which lists actions for all SACs in Wales. The Management Plan compliments the database by providing context and rationale for the noted actions. It also includes all the actions needed to maintain site management such as education, awareness raising and engagement.
Actions from the Management Plan and the Actions Database are used to create a work programme for the site and this then determine what projects are needed.
The management scheme acts as a framework, providing information on the initiatives already in place for managing the conservation value of the site. Its role is to ensure management measures are sufficient to meet the conservation goals and to highlight gaps where additional management might be required. The management scheme merely facilitates management works carried out by the existing organisations and initiatives operating around the site. The intention is to allow the management of the site to evolve to reflect current conditions and initiatives; this means the management scheme will need to be updated regularly.
EMS Team
The SAC Officer works for the Relevant Authorities Group. The role of the SAC Officer is to coordinate the management of the SAC. This includes:
Developing, securing funding and managing projects to reduce impacts on the site, working towards favourable condition
- Producing, reviewing and updating site management documents
- Stakeholder engagement
- Raising awareness
- Partnership working
- Representing sites at a national / network level
- Providing the secretariat to the relevant authorities group
For more information on the SAC and your local marine environment please contact the SAC Officer.