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Natural Resources Wales

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Our roles and responsibilities

  • Adviser: principal adviser to Welsh Government, and adviser to industry and the wider public and voluntary sector, and communicator about issues relating to the environment and its natural resources
  • Regulator: protecting people and the environment including marine, forest and waste industries, and prosecuting those who breach the regulations that we are responsible for
  • Designator: for Sites of Special Scientific Interest – areas of particular value for their wildlife or geology, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), and National Parks, as well as declaring National Nature Reserves
  • Responder: to some 9,000 reported environmental incidents a year as a Category 1 emergency responder
  • Statutory consultee: to some 9,000 planning applications a year
  • Manager/Operator: managing seven per cent of Wales’ land area including woodlands, National Nature Reserves, water and flood defences, and operating our visitor centres, recreation facilities, hatcheries and a laboratory
  • Partner, Educator and Enabler: key collaborator with the public, private and voluntary sectors, providing grant aid, and helping a wide range of people use the environment as a learning resource; acting as a catalyst for others’ work
  • Evidence gatherer: monitoring our environment, commissioning and undertaking research, developing our knowledge, and being a public records body
  • Employer: of almost 1,900 staff, as well as supporting other employment through contract work

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