What Is Communities And Nature

Communities and Nature (CAN) is a strategic project under the Environment for Growth (E4G) Theme of the Convergence Programme. CAN is being led and managed by the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), with the Environment Agency Wales (EAW) acting as joint-sponsor for the delivery of the Wild Fishing Wales (WFW) initiative.

CAN will be a strategic project covering the whole of the Convergence Area, with the exception of the Valleys Regional Park. During all stages the management and delivery of CAN will be closely aligned to all other strategic projects operating under the E4G Theme.

The CAN strategic project comprises three elements:

Projects that CCW will deliver;
The Wild Fishing Wales project that Environment Agency Wales will deliver;
The programme of procurement enabling others to contribute to the Environment for Growth theme.

CAN’s underlying ambition is to increase sustainable economic benefits and create jobs by utilising Wales’ natural capital.

The Business Plan sets out three broad Aims for CAN to:

Maximise the economic benefits of natural capital through increasing the volume, length and value of visits to the countryside, and through job and enterprise creation.
Ensure that the benefits of the activities undertaken through CAN are shared with the disadvantaged groups through employment, training and volunteering opportunities.
Enhance sustainable development in Wales by providing high quality local leisure opportunities and improving the attractiveness of each spatial plan areas.

CAN is deploying innovative methods to ensure all initiatives adhere to environmental sustainability and bring benefits to visitors, as well as disadvantaged communities. Emphasis will be placed on:

Ensuring that the supply of new infrastructure (visitor attractions) is matched with new demand through increased marketing and promotional work
Developing sound Monitoring and Evaluation methods, both at a bid level and for CAN’s activities as a whole
Fostering innovation at all levels
Building capacity amongst communities.

Total project cost for CAN is approximately £14.5 million and divided between:

Project management costs (£1.56 M)
CCW’s own projects (£1.3 M)
EAW’s project – WFW(£2.6 M)
Procured activities aimed at delivering CAN’s Aims and SMART Objectives (£9.37 M)

The range of activities to be procured will be divided into 3 procurement lots:

Small scale activities of less than £250k (2 rounds)
Connections /Paths

There will also be a joint sponsorship round for

Visitor Facilities and Wildlife attractions / tourism.

CAN sets out to leave an enduring legacy in terms of:

New high quality leisure facilities close to homes, which are regularly used and valued and lead to social and health benefits for all groups
Developing new green tourism initiatives and systems for reducing negative environmental impact, including ways of reducing CO2 emissions
Changed attitudes within communities towards the environmental assets around them and how these can be harnessed as sustainable sources for new jobs and wealth
The creation of new jobs and enterprises associated with the natural environment
Changed attitudes and improved engagement of economically-inactive individuals in disadvantaged communities.
Improvement in the skill levels leading to employment and economic benefits.