PARTNERSHIP
What we do
The South Devon Catchments Partnership facilitates communication and collaborative working between all groups, organisations and individuals supporting the rivers and tributaries of the region.
The Partnership has enabled the key themes of South Devon to be identified, which has led to the development of strategies to work more effectively to protect and improve river health.
The Partnership is hosted by Westcountry Rivers Trust and South Devon National Landscape.
The Partnership is non-selective, which has enabled us to welcome numerous community groups and individuals as well as businesses, government and non-government organisations, and many more.
The wealth of knowledge, motivation and drive exhibited by these partners is an incredibly valuable asset to the Partnership.
Quarterly meetings are held in addition to focus group meetings, including the estuary forums.
Our project pipeline highlights the key themes of work being undertaken throughout South Devon and enables the Partnership to support the development of new projects and funding opportunities.
For more information on how we work see our Terms of Reference.
The primary driver for the Catchment Based Approach is the need for the UK to meet its water quality obligations under the
Water Framework Directive. However, the Partnership also embraces the whole range of benefits derived from the river catchments including:
- Bio-security
- Recreation
- Culture & heritage
- Drinking water
- Wildlife habitats
- Flood management
- Food production
- Health & well-being
Our Vision
Local
- Supporting local initiatives
- Working at the most local level we can, widening our scope only when this will improve outcomes for the environment
Inclusive
- Bringing together all those with a passion for our rivers and environment
- Being community-led, and supporting bottom-up approaches
- Building trust and confidence, between partners and between the partnership and the wider community, by working openly and honestly
Effective
- Avoiding duplication and bureaucracy through effective communication and collaboration
- Promoting the exchange of knowledge and good practice, at a local level and with other Catchment Partnerships
- Building skills, knowledge and capacity within our communities and stakeholder groups, to sustain the catchment-based approach in the long term
We manage our work by convening three groups:
- Working group – taking a leading role in the Partnership and the development of the action plan
- Active group – involved in carrying out work on the ground
- Informed group – on our mailing list to keep informed about initiatives, with a view to future involvement
We have a project pipeline spreadsheet which is reviewed and updated at meetings. Some of these projects are being developed for a specific funding stream, while others are being recorded and developed to be ‘shovel-ready’ for an appropriate funding opportunity.
Email zoeconnelly@wrt.org.uk to find out more and get involved.
Visit our resources page to see our partnership documents and find useful resources for partners.
Where we work
The Partnership covers the rivers, streams, lakes, estuaries and coast surrounding catchments of the Yealm, Erme, Avon, Salcombe-Kingsbridge, Dart and Teign.
