User:Luke Gannon/sandbox/Sustainability in Monmouthshire

= Sustainability in Monmouthshire =

= Introduction =

Monmouthshire is a county located in South East Wales. The county is home to some 2,900,000 people and covers an area of 850KM. The largest town situated in Monmouthshire is Abergavenny. In recent years the county of Monmouthshire has faced a number of challenges, and will continue to face a range of issues in the future with regards to sustainable development in the county. The council, over the years, has aimed to fulfill the key aspects of sustainability such as economic stability, environmental protection and enhancement and social resilience. This has been pursued through a number of integrated approaches and schemes that will be explored in this article. The goal of fully realized sustainable development in the county has resulted in a thorough and promising plan that aims to minimize those challenges and improve Monmouthshire for all residents and visitors. Sustainability became a key management plan in Monmouthshire County in 2000, since the creation and implementation of MCCs (Monmouthshire county councils) Local Agenda 21 policies (1998) for sustainable development in the county, various schemes and ideas have been created and fostered, to ensure continued and sustainable development of the county as a whole.

‘Sustainable development is all about trying to live in a way that doesn't damage the earth for generations to come, it involves not looking at the environmental costs, but also how to improve peoples quality of life, their health and economic situation’)

Monmouthshire County Council Local Agenda 21 Policy:
‘A vision that has been generated by the people of Monmouthshire for the people of Monmouthshire’ - (Monmouthshire council, local agenda 21 policies pg2, Aug 2013) Introduced in 2000, it was the first step to achieving MCCs vision of a sustainable future. The local agenda policy came with 6 clear aims, to implement sustainable development.

The Six Points - The creation of MCCs local agenda 21 policy was revolutionary in the way councils operated, as MCC rejected the notion of top-down development strategies, and had the populace of Monmouthshire at it’s core. In the process of deciding on the six aims for sustainable development, local residents, individuals, community groups, schools, youth groups, businesses and town councils were consulted, to provide a platform for the public to convey their views and ideas about the local agenda 21 policies. Pg 3 local agenda policy.
 * 1) 	A Better Environment
 * 2) 	Health and wellbeing of the Monmouthshire Public
 * 3) 	Community Participation
 * 4) 	Local economic development
 * 5) 	Diversity in the county
 * 6) 	Global connections

The local agenda 21 policy also involved creating a newly formed cabinet in the council, comprised of 7 council members, one of whom has special responsibility for sustainable development. There have also been grants created totaling to £20,00 for sustainable development projects of up to £1000. Since the local agenda 21 policies has been operating projects including wildlife gardens, millennium projects and local walks have been created.

Monmouthshire County Council Sustainable Development Plan:
Introduced in 2006, the sustainable development plan is a more refined evolution of MCCs original Local Agenda 21 policy. The now agreed new sustainable development policy (2006) provided an increased amount of key information on how the county council will ensure sustainable development.

‘ Considering economic, social and environmental issues equally in all our work and when making decisions. Considering the long-term and global impacts of our decisions and doing what we can to make sure we do not damage the environment people or economy’ -.

The Sustainability plan:

Making Monmouthshire cleaner and greener was the first goal of the council’s updated sustainability plan, and aimed to achieve this aim by improving the environment through better education and new schemes. The plan also includes information on respecting the limits of the environment, resources and biodiversity available in Monmouthshire.

Another goal of the sustainable development plan is to create learning opportunities for all members of the public, to increase the skilled workforce in Monmouthshire. The policy aims to provide high quality education and training in the county. Stimulating strong local economies is also included in the policy, Strong, stable local economies was the basis, with a focus on the long-term economic growth of Monmouthshire.

The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act:
‘The Wellbeing of Future Generations act is all about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales. It will make public bodies think about the long-term’.

MCC are now in the process of implementing the wellbeing of future generations act. MCC are an “early adopter” for the Act and have been working on ways of embedding sustainable development into the organization and the way that they make decisions.The Wellbeing of future generations act was established in 2015 and aims to make public bodies listed in the act think more about the longevity of sustainability with regards to key aspects such as improved relationships within the county with communities and taking a more joined up approach to community relations. The bill was first drafted on the 7th July 2014 and came into effect in April 2016 and is the first time public bodies will be bound by law to observe and enforce sustainability in everything they do. The law requires all listed public bodies to operate in a sustainable way; they must take into account the overall impact they could incur on the Welsh global population and therefore, environment. The following features will be established in all listed public bodies when the law comes into effect. A statuary future generations commissioner for Wales will be appointed, the primary role of this position is to support the listed public bodies take sustainability seriously and ensure they reach their sustainability targets. Public services boards will be created for each local authority (PSB). Each PSB has the aim of improving the economic social, environmental and cultural well being of its area. To ensure the effectiveness of the act and to further ensure all sustainability goals and aims are being effectively completed, a self-check future generations evaluation bill has also been created, and this bill will be used in every action the public bodies take, to ensure that every action is a sustainable one. The document allows officials to evaluate proposals, plans, ideas and past projects and to come up with actions that can be taken to mitigate negative impacts or better contribute to sustainability aims.

Other sustainability projects in MCC:
Thanks to council grants from MCC local agenda 21 policies, various groups have been started by the population of MCC, with aims of creating a sustainable future for Monmouthshire County.

Monmouthshire Community Climate Champions:
Established to encourage a positive working relationship and joint working on climate change projects between MCC and community partners. The group started in 2008, when MCC began to focus on sustainable development community groups.

Aims of the group ‘ To share ideas, experience and communication between the council and the community on climate change and energy work and to think about the way either group can help each other achieve this aim’

MCCC (Monmouthshire community climate champions) Eco open doors project:
This aims to encourage more people in the community to install sustainable features in their own homes, to increase not only the overall sustainability of Monmouthshire County but also save the population money. With help from MCC in regards to sponsorship and funding, in 2012 28 homes with sustainable features have become public for a week, in the hope that this project will raise awareness with regards to sustainability through renewable energies in the populace, and to this day the project is still run annually.

MCCC have also encouraged people to buy fair-trade products to create fairness in foreign food production and limit Monmouthshire County’s negative effects on other ecosystems and the world, to ensure a sustainable future and in 2008 Monmouthshire County became a fair-trade county.

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MCC community food growing policy: =====

As allotments have begun to disappear due to new developments in Monmouthshire county and the rest of the UK, the Monmouthshire public has made the demand that underutilized land in the county become available to the public, to let people grow their own produce, limiting the amount of CO2 released as the food does not have to be transported great distances. In response, MCC have developed a policy and license that allows the use of small bits of council owned land to grow food on.

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MCC pollinator Policy: =====

‘It is widely recognized that pollinators play a vital role in the security of our food supply and the quality of our natural environment’.

MCC approved the policy to prevent the further loss of pollinators in the county and the policy aims to create more diverse habitats such as meadows, and monitoring pollinator levels in the county the prevent further losses and measure the effectiveness of the scheme.

The thoughts and ideas that have been put into effect by the council have proven to be both effective and impactful, with most ideas focusing on the key themes of sustainability and ensuring the long term. For instance, in 2002 the council adopted the recycled paper policy which aims to create its own market by establishing a loop of recycle and supply within the county thus becoming self-sustaining. During the creation of the 6 key aims for the local agenda policy the local population had an involvement, including youth groups and residents, which ensures a good relationship with the council and helps the public to understand the importance of sustainable development, to ensure the futures of the next generation. The MCC sustainable development policy aims to promote sustainable ideas and ensure their effectiveness through “high quality education programs” and promote “social cohesion”. It is clear that action is needed to be taken within the county of Monmouthshire to ensure it functions effectively economically, politically, socially and environmentally for years to come, with their effective education programs available to all residents the theme of sustainability remains one of the top priorities for the council and its residents with the overall aim of safeguarding the future of the planet.