Away in Osset
Sign up for our newsletter
 
 

History of YHEF

Yorkshire & Humber Environment Forum (YHEF) was formed in 2001 (as the Regional Environment Forum) to coordinate and represent the views of a wide range of organisations for whom a key interest is in the enhancement of environmental conditions in the Yorkshire and Humber Region and in the social and economic value of such changes.

The need for such a Forum stemmed from:

  • a need to develop a single shared broad based environmental agenda for the Region
  • a recognition of the need for effective representation of environmental issues to the Yorkshire & Humber Assembly and other Regional policy and decision-making organisations
  • the lack of a coherent Regional Environmental Strategy to guide and coordinate resources and activity across the region and to feed into the Regional Sustainable Development Framework (RSDF) in order to integrate fully with the Regional Economic and Social agendas.

In September 2003 YHREF published 'The Regional Environmental Enhancement Strategy for Yorkshire and the Humber'. The Strategy presented 5-10 year regional objectives for environmental enhancement arranged within four themes, and a set of practical, 2-5 year actions to achieve those objectives. The strategy was endorsed by the Regional Assembly of Yorkshire and the Humber in November 2003.

In 2005 YHREF launched the Environment Hub; the first regional web resource for environmental information and reporting.

In 2005 YHREF also established the Yorkshire and Humber Environment Trust, a non-profit company and registered charity. The Trust has been set up to provide operational capacity for environmental enhancement in the region and to develop training, CPD (Continuing Professional Development) and facilitation services to help other people and organisations enhance the environment.

In February 2008, after extensive consultation, YHREF published a revised Regional Environmental Enhancement Strategy.[link]. The centrepiece of the new Enhancement Strategy is a 5 year Manifesto and Action Plan, focusing on securing the best possible outcomes for the region’s environment through the forthcoming Single Regional Strategy (iRS).

It is now 2011 and the forum is in transition. The 'region' nolonger exists as a political entity and the structures that we have influenced and shaped have all but vanished. The challenges that lie ahead are unclear but we still believe that a collective voice existing above local concerns is something valuable and worth maintaining.