Environment Agency

Agency's overall responsibilities & interests in forestry

The Environment Agency for England and Wales provides an integrated approach to environmental management through its various Core Functions for the management of water, land, air and waste. Its statutory duties and powers enable it to take a rational approach to regulation of industry and also to work actively, with others where appropriate, to prevent pollution, conserve natural resources, and protect and manage the environment. The Agency is interested in those forestry activities which have an effect on the environment, and such activities may affect one or more of the Agency's Core Functions.

The Agency's mission for R&D

To contribute to a better environment by delivering practical research and development results based on high quality science, engineering and technology.

Current mechanism for consultation and setting of research priorities

The Agency's R&D programme consists of about 300 projects organised around four Frameworks and nine Themes. The Frameworks, which are about maintaining an overview of the environment and determining those areas in which the Agency will take action, are:-

• Viewpoints (state of the environment)
• Stresses and strains (pressures)
• Risks and values (options)
• Delivering a better environment (responses)

The last Framework is divided into the nine Themes, which reflect the different ways in which the Agency acts to manage the environment:-

• Addressing climate change
• Regulating major industries
• Improving air quality
• Managing waste
• Managing our water resources
• Delivering integrated river-basin management
• Conserving the land
• Managing our freshwater fisheries
• Enhancing biodiversity

Within these Frameworks and Themes any R&D that is carried out must reflect the Agency's business needs, and is therefore, of necessity, of an applied nature. The Agency does not carry out blue sky research, as that is best left to the Government Research Institutes and Academia. The rationale and overall approach of the Agency's R&D Programme is explained in the Agency's R&D Strategy (see below).

The effectiveness and value to the Agency of its R&D programme depends strongly on the extent to which it links with those of other research-commissioning organisations in the public and private sector. The Agency collaborates with R&D organisations having similar interests to develop shared approaches or partnerships and/or to avoid overlaps. The Forestry Research Coordination Committee is a typical example of such collaboration. The Agency also aims to influence the R&D programmes of other organisations, particularly those (e.g. the Research Councils) responsible for developing underpinning knowledge.

Outline of funding mechanisms

The overall Agency R&D budget for 1998/99 was ,11M. Most of this is spent on R&D contracted out to consultants or academic institutions, some of which is collaborative and some led by the Agency alone; however, a considerable portion of the programme is also carried out in-house, usually within one of the Agency's National Centres of Expertise.

In order to determine the annual R&D programme, an annual review process is carried out by the Agency's R&D Section and a prioritised programme of projects and budgets is set. These are then published in the externally-available Schedule of R&D Projects and developed as new project starts, each with a nominated Agency Project Manager.

In terms of the commissioning and management of specific projects, the Agency has thirteen R&D Commissions, each reflecting the policy and operational interests of one of its Core Functions, and each having its own budget. Each R&D Commission has a Acustomer@ in the form of a Function Committee, comprising the Head of Function plus eight Regional Functional Managers. A nominated Programme Officer from the core function concerned is responsible for managing each function's R&D Commission and for ensuring delivery of the R&D products to its customers within the permitted budget for the function.

Whilst the bulk of the Agency's R&D Programme is defined by its Core Functions internally, Programme Officers can consider outline proposals from external bodies for projects which address the Agency's priorities within the Frameworks and Themes. Before any collaborative proposals are fully accepted, there needs to be a stage of negotiation during which a project plan, acceptable to all collaborating parties involved, is developed. Finally, all proposals must be submitted to and approved by the Agency's R&D Project Assessment Board before they are permitted to commence. Any day-to-day issue concerning the planning and management of the R&D Programme are summarised in the Agency's publication AA Short Guide@, available from the R&D Section at Bristol.

Forestry-related R&D, depending on the nature of individual projects, may involve several individual Functions, e.g. Sustainable Development, Water Quality, Conservation, Fisheries, Flood Defence and Water Resources.

Contact points for further information

For general information on the Agency's R&D Programme, including obtaining copies of the Agency's R&D Strategy and the Short Guide, contact the R&D Section at Bristol (Tel: 01454 624400. Fax: 01454 624034).

For general forestry-related matters (including relevant R&D) contact should be made with the Agency's representative on the Forestry Research Coordination Committee, i.e., Alun Gee (Cardiff Tel: 01222 770088 Fax: 01222 798555).

The Programme Officers for the Core Functions and their locations are as follows:-

E1 Environmental Monitoring & Assessment: Alistair Ferguson (Bristol)

E2 Sustainable Development: Chris Newton (Bristol)

P1 Waste Regulation and Management: Jan Gronow (Bristol)

P2 Water Quality: Steve Killeen (Bristol)

P3 Radioactive Substances Regulation: Clive Williams (Westbury-on-Trym)

P4 Process Industries Regulation: Charlie Corbishley (Bristol)

P5 Land Quality: Valerie Forster (Bristol)

W1 Conservation: Paul Raven (Bristol)

W2 Fisheries: David Clarke (Bristol)

W3 Recreation & Navigation: Roger Valentine (Peterborough)

W4 Local Government Liaison: Veronica Jones (Bristol)

W5 Flood Defence: Brian Empson (Bristol)

W6 Water Resources: Aileen Kirmond (Bristol)

Published listings of all Environment Agency R&D outputs, and of the items themselves, are available to the public through the Agency's Dissemination Centre at the address below. Some outputs are, however, available only through The Stationery Office or its designated agents, whilst certain others, particularly the products of collaborations where the Agency was a minor funder, may be obtained from the lead organisation concerned. In these cases, contact points are identified in the published listings.

Environment Agency R&D Dissemination Centre
c/o WRc plc
Frankland Road
Blagrove
Swindon
SN5 8YF

Tel: 01793 511711

Fax: 01793 514562

E-mail: publications@wrcplc.co.uk

Further information about the Environment Agency in general and the overall R&D programme in particular is available on the Agency's own web sites (see links on right).