Piloting of Strategic Marine Net Gain targets (SMNG) at a local level

Status: Active

Start Date: March 2025

Lead Organisation: Seabed User and Developer Group

A Task and Finish Group (T and F group) was established at the outset of work on Marine Net Gain (MNG) in 2020, bringing together industry, regulators and NGOs. Following a successful bid to OWEC, in Phase 1 the T and F group identified strategic targets for MNG. Phase 2 looked in more depth how these targets could be delivered through restoration in coastal and marine environments. A major outcome of the work were recommendations that Defra and others could adopt in planning MNG policy and procedure. Phase 3, this phase, would continue close liaison with Defra, as a member of the T and F group.

MNG in terrestrial and intertidal zones became a statutory obligation in February 2024 and MNG will certainly follow for offshore development in the near future.

This project aims to ensure that the contribution made by industry through MNG will have the greatest and most significant impact in addressing the current failures of our coastal and marine environments. This proposal aims to put all the work to date into context by examining how MNG could be identified and delivered at a marine plan level, using the outputs from phases 1 and 2.