13 Jul 2016
Charlie Phillips/WDC
Scotland’s planning system must be directed to improve the health of our marine environment, according to a new report published today by Scottish Environment LINK’s Marine Group. ‘Living with the seas’ outlines a far-sighted vision for delivering sustainable development of Scotland’s sea area and securing environmental recovery from decades of decline. The report makes a series of recommendations that include the need for marine planning to:
- Plan for recovery: our seas are at risk of poorly-coordinated development. Plans must seek opportunities to recover our damaged marine environment. If the planning system is directed to enhancing the health of our marine environment using the ‘ecosystem approach’, our seas will become more productive.
- Help empower communities: the process of developing and delivering regional marine plans must be transparent and accessible to coastal communities and all stakeholders to ensure local knowledge contributes to the decision-making process.
- Receive adequate funding at regional level: regional marine planning partnerships must be adequately resourced to deliver effective regional marine plans