Memorandum by Mark Robins, Chair of the
South West Regional Environment Network (SW REN) (RG 13)
1. REN is an independent network of environmental
bodies, working to promote, protect and enhance the South West's
environment. It acts as a shared voice, a forum, a customer for
certain regional activities (eg the environment module of the
SW Regional Observatory), and accepts certain other regional tasks
(eg it is the constituency from which three SEEPs are nominated
into SW Regional Assembly).
2. There are equivalents to REN, call them
"regional environment link" groups, in most (all?) English
regions, but they are formatted and operate differently according
to circumstance.
3. REN wishes to raise a simple but central
point about the environment in a regional governance context.
There are clearly many parties, statutory agencies, and third
sector groups (with some large NGOs), operating at the regional
level whose interests are environmental or impact environmental
outcomes, but these "regional environment link" groups
provide the single forum and voice (and champion?) across the
environment sector at the regional level.
4. At least in the south west, there is
more to be done to enhance the capacity and effectiveness of REN
as the link group, building its communications function, bringing
together information, intelligence, common understandings and
so on to have more impact. The formal and informal relationships
between REN and other regional bodies need strengthening to suggest
stronger impact on environmental outcomes driven from the regional
level.
5. REN suggests the ODPM Committee should
consider the form and function of these regional environment link
groups and how they better become fit for purpose in regional
governance structures.
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