Welcome Message
Thank you for your interest in the role of Chair of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).
The MMO is a young organisation, successfully vested on 1 April 2010. It was established to make a significant contribution to sustainable development in the marine area and to promote the UK Government's vision for clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas.
It is a body which has been warmly welcomed by stakeholders across the whole marine area. It brings together the roles and interests of a number of Departments in a modern example of joined-up Government.
Although the organisation is still growing and developing, it has had a number of key successes in the early months, including the announcement of the first two marine plan areas.
Looking to the future, the MMO takes on wider responsibilities for marine planning and will launch a streamlined licensing system on 1 April 2011. These new areas will help transform delivery. I am also looking to the MMO to forge strong, collaborative relations with the Inshore Fisheries Conservation authorities which will be vested on 1 April 2011. The MMO is also uniquely placed to help deliver better local engagement and a stronger civil society. Clearly too there will be challenges as the MMO, like all public bodies, delivers more with less.
The most important qualities I am looking for from the Chair of the MMO are: leadership, judgement and the ability to work across a complex stakeholder landscape. Because the environment in which the MMO operates is so diverse, it is more important that you can inspire confidence across a wide range of stakeholders than that you have a strong history in any one marine or maritime sector.
The MMO is vital to Defra's aim to help people take more responsibility for their environment, and encourage sustainable behaviour. There are many challenges ahead, but meeting those challenges will be interesting and rewarding, bringing the satisfaction of uniting disparate interests in a common aim – safeguarding our marine area for generations to come.
Thank you for your interest.
Richard Benyon
Parliamentary Under Secretary for Natural Environment and Fisheries