MoU will protect the past and the future

Protecting and understanding our heritage, and natural and historic environments, helps us to meet challenges facing modern Wales.

Natural Resources Wales, Heneb (formerly the Welsh Archaeological Trusts) and Cadw have been successfully working together to meet those challenges for nearly 10 years, thanks to work framed in Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed in 2016 and 2020.

NRW’s Acting Chief Executive Ceri Davies, Head of Cadw Gwilym Hughes, and Chief Executive of Heneb Richard Nicholls, have renewed their commitment to work together by signing new MoUs last week.

The MoUs set out the common objectives and understanding in relation to matters of mutual interest in the historic and natural environments.

But more than that, they have raised awareness and understanding of the importance of these environments, their features, interactions and the benefits of working together.

Ceri Davies, Acting CEO for NRW, said:

“The ethos of the MoU’s has often been a catalyst for working together, for the first time in some areas, and for stronger, clearer joint working in established areas.

“Our MoU principles set out how we will all practically work together to ensure the historic and natural environments are an integral part of decisions affecting land management and that we have due regard for the specific duties placed upon us through legislation.

“On a practical note, we have developed training events and worked in partnership to raise awareness and understanding, and to bring people together for effective joint working.”

Gwilym Hughes, Head of Cadw, said:

“Wales is widely recognised as a place of outstanding natural and historic landscapes shaped over thousands of years by generations of people interacting with the land.   

“This partnership provides a much valued platform through which practitioners passionate about the care for our precious heritage work together to support sustainable conservation and management of our natural and historic environment.  

“Through this agreement we have seen improved collaboration, worked together to improve our understanding of the challenges and adaptations to the nature and climate emergency and developed examples of best practice to inform future land management approaches. “ 

Richard Nicholls, CEO of Heneb, said:

“Collaboration between historic environment professionals, conservationists, and land managers helps to create synergies that lead to more effective and coordinated land management strategies.

“This approach ensures that our natural and cultural heritage are preserved together, for the benefit of everyone in Wales, and for future generations. Heneb – the Trust for Welsh Archaeology is therefore fully committed to strengthening this crucial partnership.”