The objective of this Framework is to provide greater clarity to public authorities, particularly local authorities, of how to create greener and more climate resilient settlements through Blue Green Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions.
This Framework will provide good practice examples of where greener and more climate resilient settlements have been achieved through BGI and NBS. These examples will be international and national.
It is also important to be clear on what a BGI and NBS Strategy for the Southern Region will not deliver:
- The Framework is not an action plan for delivering specific policies, initiatives or projects.
- The Framework does not replace or usurp any existing statutory or national processes.
- The Framework is not a statutory policy document.
- The Framework is not an investment document with an associated budget.
The recommendations of the Framework are a high level, regionally captured resource that will require next step progress under the initiatives and processes of the responsible stakeholders (such as specific plan making, new policy formation, masterplans, specific projects) which will comply with required environmental assessment processes (Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) as appropriate.