From 1 April 2013, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) will take over the functions currently carried out by the Countryside Council for Wales, Forestry Commission Wales and the devolved functions of Environment Agency Wales.
In November 2011, John Griffiths AM, Welsh Government Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, announced that he was minded to proceed with creating a new Single Body for Wales by bringing together the functions of the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), the Environment Agency Wales (EAW) and Forestry Commission Wales(FCW).
The new body will have a key role in protecting Wales' natural resources and working with businesses in Wales. It would also provide environmental advice and input to planning processes and to the development of new legislation, helping to design new regulatory arrangements which simplify regulatory processes and encourage investment, whilst maintaining the environment of Wales. The name for the new single body is Natural Resources Wales / Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru.
Professor Peter Matthews has been appointed Chair of Natural Resources Wales. Professor Matthews has held a variety of senior positions in the environmental field, in both the private and public sectors. He has been deputy managing director of Anglian Water International, president of the European Water Association and chair of the Northern Ireland authority for Utility Regulation. He also served on the Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution and is a visiting professor at Anglia Ruskin University.
Dr Emyr Roberts has been appointed the body’s chief executive. After a career with the National Farmers’ Union, Emyr joined the Welsh Office in 1991 and was promoted to the senior civil service in 1997. Since then he has held a number of posts within the Welsh Government.
If you have any questions you can donwload information from this link. The information given there is provided by Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales to answer some of the questions that customers and stakeholders may be asking about the creation of Natural Resources Wales and how it may affect them. Emyr is currently Director General of Education and Skills.
The new Natural Resources Wales website will be available from 01 April 2013. You will be able to find all the information there that you would have found on the CCW, EAW and FCW websites. The new website address will be www.naturalresourceswales.gov.uk