We need to take a closer look at the way we use land. Why? Because land use has very real consequences for us all and, at present, our land is managed in a way that does not necessarily deliver all the benefits it could. This is an increasingly pressing issue. The Scottish Government has acknowledged the climate and biodiversity emergencies and respected bodies like the Committee on Climate Change have suggested that we will only meet our new emissions reduction targets if there is significant land use change. Land is, therefore, a critical asset and we need to make sure we are using it effectively in the context of both the climate and biodiversity crises.
Last year the Committee on Climate Change published a report on climate and land use in the UK and concluded that the current approach to land use is not sustainable. Land can deliver a wide range of things: it can be used to produce food or to grow timber; it can sequester and store carbon; it can be managed to help reduce flooding; it can provide a home for nature; and it can provide sites for producing renewable energy. It also provides beautiful landscapes for everyone to enjoy. The list goes on. But today, land is often used with only a few of these benefits in mind. The focus on food, timber and game management sometimes means that many of the wider benefits land can deliver are overlooked or are second order concerns. As a result, Scotland’s land is not always being managed in a way that optimises the benefits it could deliver to society as a whole.
At the same time, the Committee has also identified that Scotland has the ability to meet emissions reduction targets earlier than the UK as a whole because of the potential we have to use our land resources differently. The Committee suggests that some agricultural land could be put to another use and it advocates a substantial increase in the area of woodland.
We stand at a point in time when we recognise that current land use policies are far from sustainable and when we need land to deliver more. This is why we need to look again at land use. Some fresh-thinking is required. We need to think strategically about what we want land to deliver and we need to design better policies to shape the way we use our limited land resources.
Fortunately, the Scottish Government has recognised these issues. It announced a more regional approach to land use decision-making recently in its Programme for Government, committing to the creation of new regional partnerships which will produce Regional Land Use Frameworks by 2023. This approach should lead to better and more informed choices about land use and is welcome news. It represents a step towards more critical thinking about how we can optimise land use and towards a policy and financial support regime for rural land managers that is much more focused on delivering public goods.
Developing a regional approach to land use won’t be without its challenges. Land use can be contentious—with many different parties looking out for their own interests—but regional partnerships can hopefully be the focus for some positive conversations about current land use and future aspirations. We should proceed carefully because whilst change is necessary it is important to remember that people’s livelihoods and communities may be affected. Nonetheless, the fact it could be difficult should not put us off; the prize is too great.
What should these regional partnerships do? Details are still to be worked out, but Scottish Environment LINK believes the partnerships should undertake a comprehensive analysis of land use and management in their region and identify the key opportunities to enhance the delivery of services from the land. The partnerships would then produce Regional Land Use Frameworks that would include a set of recommendations to the Scottish Government about regional priorities for land use and indicative funding needs. The Scottish Government would then make decisions about the allocation of funding and targeting.
This is in contrast to the current situation where large amounts of public money are spent, often in ways that perpetuate the unsustainable use of land. The goal is a more rational approach that uses public money in a way that optimises land use and maximises the public benefits from that spend.
We can do better. We can achieve more sustainable land use. We must work together to grasp this opportunity and identify land use plans and policies that benefit society as a whole.
Dr Andrew Midgley, Senior Policy Officer at RSPB Scotland and member of LINK’s Land Use subgroup
A version of this blog was published in The Scotsman on 3 January 2020.
Seven months ago, Scotland’s First Minister announced a climate emergency and the need for ‘transformative change’ if we are to limit global temperature rise to 1.5oC and halt the loss of nature. This announcement came in the wake of two in-depth scientific reports from the United Nations highlighting the worsening twin global climate and nature crises. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s October 2018 report estimated that the world has roughly 10 years to bring down carbon emissions and prevent damaging climate impacts. The Intergovernmental Science Policy Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report, published in May 2019, outlined the ongoing and worsening declines in biodiversity across the globe. More recently the State of Nature Scotland 2019 report 1, published in October 2019, found that Scotland is mirroring these global trends, with no overall let up in the loss of biodiversity. This is the context in which we need an immediate response to limit greenhouse gas emissions and halt and reverse declines in nature.
Transformative change requires commitment from governments at all levels to act to reverse declines in nature, underpinned by targeted and sufficient funding. However, the Scottish Government has been in receipt of falling funding from the UK Government as a result of austerity measures and local authorities providing public services are under pressure from tightening budgets. Environmental NGOs and others have noted declines in funding for the environment agencies across the four countries 2.
Figures from the Scottish Government’s proposed annual budgets (see notes below) reflect the steep declines in funding for Scotland’s public environment agencies and environmental research over the last decade.
2 For example, see: https://community.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/b/biodiversity/posts/the-latest-uk-wild-bird-indicators. And: https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/publications/bns/BN243.pdf
It is important to note that a proposed budget is not exactly what may end up as an agreed budget. However, the declines are significant enough to indicate that the publicly-funded organisations that seek to investigate, understand, advise and provide evidence on ways of protecting and enhancing Scotland’s environment are now provided with significantly less direct funding from central government than they were at the start of the decade. Compared to nine years ago, the annual aggregate SNH, RESAS and SEPA budgets have been cut by almost £100m, measured in 2019 prices, a staggering 40% reduction in real terms 3. Now that the urgent need to address the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis has been widely acknowledged, funding for the environment agencies and environmental research must surely not only be reinstated, but substantially increased.
3 This was calculated using the GDP deflators, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp
The huge and vital challenge of tackling the joint nature and climate emergencies means our natural world needs allies like never before. Today, we’re celebrating the commitment made by Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to Stand Up for Nature.
Fifty-two MSPs from across the political parties, many of whom are also species champions, have signed the pledge launched by Scottish Environment LINK to work for the protection, recovery and enhancement of Scotland’s natural environment.
The Stand Up for Nature pledge
The joint emergencies of rapid biodiversity loss and climate breakdown require transformative action. As a member of the Scottish Parliament, I pledge to stand up for nature.
I will do everything in my power to ensure Scotland’s natural environment has strong and effective protection, alongside ambitious targets for its recovery and enhancement. When 1 in 11 species in Scotland is at risk of extinction, these measures are vital, whatever our future relationship with the European Union.”
This year has seen a massive surge in popular pressure on governments around the world to act to prevent climate catastrophe, and a growing awareness that halting and reversing biodiversity loss is a priority of a similar order. This is true in Scotland as elsewhere: the latest State of Nature report, released in October, shows that Scotland’s wildlife is in alarming decline, with 11 per cent of species found in Scotland threatened with extinction from Great Britain.
2020 will be a critical year for tackling the nature emergency, and the need for politicians to stand up for our environment will be greater than ever. Brexit looks set to continue dominating the UK’s political agenda, and safeguarding Scotland’s environmental protections in the face of a possible exit from the European Union is essential. Scotland’s leading environmental charities are calling through the Fight for Scotland’s Nature campaign for legislation to embed key EU environmental principles in Scots law and to set up an independent watchdog to enforce environmental protections. The campaign also calls for clear and binding targets for nature recovery.
Next year will see two United Nations summits which could shape our response to the nature and climate emergencies in the crucial decade to come. Scotland has a major role to play in both of these: Edinburgh will host an international conference in the spring ahead of the UN biodiversity summit in China in the autumn, and Glasgow has been chosen as the venue for the UN climate summit towards the end of the year.
With the future of the planet and its human and non-human inhabitants in the balance, now is the time for nature’s allies to live up to their promise.
Scotland’s nature is in crisis, with the 2019 State of Nature report showing that 11 per cent of species are at risk of extinction. We are also facing a global climate crisis, which is causing many species to be driven northwards in Scotland, has increased the frequency of fires in uplands and woodlands (which are crucial to carbon storage), and is putting pressure on our coastlines with rising sea levels. In order to protect and restore our natural environment, we need a step change in ambition.
European Union (EU) protections have played a significant role in protecting our natural environment and stemming the tide of environmental decline in Scotland.
There is a risk that many of these protections will be lost if the UK leaves the EU. Regardless of the Brexit scenario, the joint nature and climate crises mean that the Scottish Government needs to strengthen environmental laws, to enforce environmental protection and reverse the declines of habitats and species. For these reasons, urgent action is needed to safeguard and embed policies into Scots law.
Precautionary principle – intervention where there are grounds for concern of risk or harm
Polluter pays principle – those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or environment
The rectification at source principle – damage should be rectified at the source wherever possible e.g. tackle the roots not only the consequences
Preventative action principle – take measures to address today’s issues rather than future consequences
In a Scottish Government consultation, 70 per cent of respondents agreed that the Scottish Government has a duty to integrate regard these EU principles in the formation of new environmental policy.
Professor Gemmell’s report also highlights two major actions which are needed for environmental protection in Scotland:
1) The creation of a specialised environmental court; 2) The need for a regulator which can adjudicate and regulate environmental policy.
The court and watchdog would operate in the space in which the European Commission and Court of Justice currently operates across the EU, holding governments, businesses and individuals to account for breaches in environmental law.
The commissioner and the court would also have the power and resources to make independent checks and investigations and provide scrutiny to check that environmental regulation is implemented, as well as sanction legal breeches.
It is crucial that both are independent from the government, thus able to scrutinise and hold the government, organisations and individuals to account fairly and autonomously.
Within the aforementioned Scottish Government consultation, over half (62 per cent) of respondents thought a new function was required to replace the European Commission in receiving complaints and concerns from individuals and organisations about environmental law compliance. This highlights there is public awareness of the need for this watchdog.
Environmental protections are not only essential to safeguard social and economic factors but are also crucial to our human rights. The creation of a dedicated parliamentary commission has the potential to consider environmental issues as under international human rights law, and to regulate policy in relation to human rights and the environment.
Climate change is of growing concern across the UK, with85 per cent of respondents to a poll conducted this summer saying they are concerned, or very concerned (52 per cent) about climate change. Alongside this increased awareness and apprehension, people are aware that urgent action is required by the Scottish Government to tackle climate change, particularly in the event of a no deal Brexit.
We are pleased to see the Scottish Government’s recent announcement of an environmental advisory panel in the event of a no deal Brexit, and await further detail on the panel’s remit. In addition, regardless of the Brexit situation, environmental legislation needs to be strengthened and embedded in Scotland. We look forward to details of the Scottish Government’s long-term plans for environmental governance.
Scotland is arguably the most nature rich part of the UK. With over 60% of the coastline and marine habitat, all the UKK’s arctic – alpine habitats, all the machair, Caledonian pinewood and most of the temperate rainforest, Scotland is nature rich. But the prospects are not good.
The State of Nature report, launched on 4 October, highlighted negative overall trends, in the last decade in particular and over the last 50 years’ worth of statistically comparable data. This is set against ongoing longer term declines that have been in train for even longer. The UK as a whole is losing species diversity – most marked in Countryside Survey plots, surveyed specifically for a rich species diversity where that diversity is declining. The next Countryside Survey report, now long overdue, is unlikely to show an improving picture.
These trends, the blue flashing lights, are clear signals – sirens if you like – of the crisis in our countryside. Without species and habitat diversity, Scotland’s ecosystems run much higher risks of collapse because their internal resilience is being stripped out. Diversity, in every walk of life, offers resilience to change. Resilience to change is becoming increasingly important as we face climate change and climate extremes. And it is harder to reverse under ongoing political change, where there is every danger that political attention is being distracted away from the life threatening issues facing not just Scotland but the world. This combination of factors means that commitment to urgent, real and effective action is now badly needed.
In Scotland, the First Minister has declared a climate emergency and noted that we need to respond not just to that but also to the biodiversity crisis too. She has made it clear that support for human rights, which includes the right to a healthy environment is a top priority, underlined by the Scottish Government being one of the first nations to sign up to the Sustainable Development Goals. These announcements are important but they are not enough.
If this is an emergency, where is the emergency response? With the blue lights gathering around what could become the car crash of climate change and biodiversity loss, it would be much better to act now. And there are 3 main areas we need to act in: geographically, financially and in a timely manner.
Geographically, we need to put in place a mechanism that supports all means to halt biodiversity loss and reverse its decline, enabling habitats and species to build resilience. The most effective, and quickest, way to do this is to identify a national ecological network that connects habitats together and enables them to expand so that species can move from one location to another. This means ensuring the landscape is nature friendly so species can pass though farmland, across mountain valleys to find new habitats. It doesn’t necessarily mean landscaped habitat corridors. It means making the landscape permeable to nature and allowing it to thrive wherever it can. Enabling this to happen at the scale required means having a land use subsidy scheme and other funding support for nature friendly farming and the provision of land that supports rejuvenated peat bogs, wetlands and rivers, woodland that spreads from the limited ravines in which it is pinned on our west coast and mountain tops where alpine species can move from one top to another without being burnt.
We need action at home too: although land managers have a huge role to play in addressing these crises, there is plenty we can all do at home. Limiting our own carbon footprint will obviously help bring down emissions that contribute to climate change. Using green space to grow a diversity of plants, in window boxes, gardens and parks and most importantly letting politicians know we care and we want them to act. The blue flashing lights that politicians are seeing right now are an engaged electorate making their wishes known through marches and support for action on climate change and on biodiversity loss.
None of this is going to arrive by magic or for free though. We need to see determination from government to deliver on the issues people are raising and we need to see appropriate levels of funding put in place to ensure some progress is made quickly. How much are we willing to pay for our future? For our children to be able to see red squirrels and otters? For our clean air and water and homes that are safe from flooding? For carbon to be locked away in healthy and productive soils? Public surveys have shown that people want to see farmers paid to deliver clean water, flood defences, healthy populations of wild flowers and insects. And for those things that can’t be delivered by farmers, we need to see other funders step in with the vision, determination and resources to build healthy natural habitats and thriving native species.
We, and our nature and landscapes, need this to happen today. The international panel reports on climate and biodiversity give the world about a decade to turn these trends around. The earlier we tackle both the climate and nature crisis, the more effective and cheaper it is. If we act now, we may need to spend 1 -2 % of GDP on action against climate change alone. If we leave it until the lights become sirens, we will need to spend more than an estimated 20% of GDP. The blue lights are gathering. Let’s not watch and wait for them to become sirens. Find out more about the State of Scotland’s nature here: https://www.scotlink.org/publication/state-of-nature/
Leading environmental charities have welcomed a plan announced this week by Scotland’s Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham to set up an interim advisory panel to safeguard Scotland’s environmental standards in the event of a No Deal Brexit. Although the EU has this week granted an extension to Article 50, avoiding a No Deal exit on 31 October, this does not take No Deal entirely off the table.
The charities, members of Scottish Environment LINK, have been calling through their Fight for Scotland’s Nature campaign for urgent measures to protect Scotland’s environment from severe threats posed by Brexit. Their demands include a new, independent watchdog to enforce environmental protections.
The advisory panel announced this week would be a temporary arrangement, to be set up if the UK leaves the UK without a deal, but the charities say in the short term it could help fill the gap left by loss of access to the European Commission. They are awaiting further details on how the interim panel will operate, including how it will receive and address complaints from members of the public regarding environmental compliance, and whether it will include members with environmental expertise.
Members of Scottish Environment LINK are calling on the Scottish Government to detail what longer term arrangements it will put in place to ensure that Scotland’s environmental protections are upheld after Brexit. The results of the Scottish Government’s own consultation showed strong support for the creation of a new body in Scotland to carry out scrutiny, oversight and enforcement of environmental protections if we leave the EU. Scottish Environment LINK is recommending that there be a Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, based on research recently carried out by Professor Campbell Gemmell and commissioned by LINK.
Charles Dundas, chair of Scottish Environment LINK, said:
“Scotland’s natural environment is central to our society, our economy, and our wellbeing. This announcement shows that the Scottish Government is taking seriously the question of how we will look after our nature if the UK leaves the EU.
“A No Deal Brexit would leave Scotland’s environment extremely vulnerable, and we’re delighted that the Scottish Government has made plans to prevent standards slipping.
“We believe that in the longer term it is essential that Scotland has an independent, well-resourced environmental watchdog to uphold environmental protections and hold future governments to account.”
David and Jean Ainsley of Sealife Adventures run wildlife watching boat trips from near Oban. They told us why they’re supporting the Fight for Scotland’s Nature campaign:
We run a marine tourism business, Sealife Adventures, and have been operating within the area which is now the Firth of Lorn SAC (Special Area of Conservation) for over 30 years. The protections given to the area were based on a Complaint to the EU which led to a ban on scallop dredging 12 years ago.
Since then the area has become part of an SAC for porpoise and an MPA (Marine Protected Area) for flapper skate. We have seen a huge improvement in the wildlife and diversity in the region, including a very significant increase in abundance of species such as jewel anemones which require clear water, more fish and a 286 per cent increase in porpoise.
EU legislation has led to greater protection of Scotland’s wildlife and it is vital that this continues post-Brexit. We fully support the Fight for Scotland’s Nature campaign.”
Scottish Government’s consultation receives public support for safeguarding nature from Brexit
New report from Scottish Environment LINK sets out proposals for ensuring that environmental protections can still be upheld if the UK exits the EU
Today the 2019 State of Nature Report, a comprehensive assessment from over 70 wildlife organisations and government agencies, showed that there has been no let up in the declines of nature across Scotland and the UK, and that urgent action is needed to reverse these declines.
The Scottish Government’s commendable ambitions to be world leaders on tackling the twin climate and nature crises cannot be achieved without the support of robust legislation and ways to uphold protections. That is why LINK welcomes the results of the Scottish Government’s consultation on Environmental Principles and Governance released today, which show strong support for strong new laws and institutions in Scotland, if the UK exits the EU.
Today’s consultation results show a genuine concern that Brexit may lead to negative impacts on environmental protection and that there is widespread support for the Scottish Government’s proposals to safeguard standards and introduce new arrangements for scrutinising and enforcing these protections.
70% of respondents to the consultation called for four key EU environmental principles to guide future Scottish Government policy, and there was also strong support for the creation of a new body to ensure that environmental protections are properly delivered and scrutinised. Several respondents also supported the introduction of an Environmental Court in Scotland.
LINK would like thank all of the individuals and organisations who participated in our Fight for Scotland’s Nature campaign, which contributed over 12,000 responses to the consultation. This is an overwhelming display of passion and support for Scotland’s nature, and we were particularly pleased to see the wonderful contributions of the young people from Sunnyside Primary School in Glasgow, and the Ullapool Sea Savers mentioned in the Scottish Government’s report.
We are therefore delighted to launch a new report from Professor Campbell Gemmell, commissioned by Scottish Environment LINK, which echoes many of the consultation responses and proposes some practical ways that the Scottish Government could achieve its welcome aims to maintain EU standards.
The report recommends that the Scottish Government:
creates an independent Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment to act as a watchdog;
establishes a dedicated Environmental Court over the long- term to enforce standards;
streamlines and strengthens environmental governance in Scotland.
Taking forward these recommendations would ensure environmental protections can still be upheld if the UK exits the EU. Such a comprehensive response to the risks of EU exit would mean that Scotland’s institutions are as strong as the environmental protections they uphold. It would ensure that government and its agencies are held to account, providing a fundamental democratic safeguard and giving the environment a strong voice at a time when it urgently needs to be heard.
Deborah Long, Chief Officer of Scottish Environment LINK, said:
The results of the Scottish Government’s consultation show that LINK’s concerns about the risks to Scotland’s species and habitats are shared by many. As we rapidly approach the Brexit deadline, we are in danger of losing guiding environmental principles and the ability to enforce high standards at a time when our natural world is already under threat from the twin climate and biodiversity emergencies.
The consultation results show widespread support for their proposals to maintain EU environmental principles and introduce new governance arrangements as a response to EU exit. Scottish Environment LINK is delighted to release this new report from Professor Campbell Gemmell on environmental governance, which we hope proposes a practical way forward on these issues. We look forward to discussing these solutions in more detail with the Scottish Government in the coming months.
LINK supports the Scottish Government’s welcome ambitions to ensure that Brexit does not lead to a downgrading of environmental protections, and we hope that this will be achieved through new legislation that embeds EU environmental principles in Scots law and creates a new environment watchdog to safeguard Scotland’s amazing wildlife and landscapes.
[4] Professor Campbell Gemmell is a Partner in Canopus Scotland Consulting, Professor of Environment Policy, Regulation and Governance at the University of Glasgow, Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Stirling and an Adjunct Professor in the Future Industries Institute at UniSA, Adelaide.
He is former CEO of the South Australian EPA (2012 to 2014) and was CEO of SEPA 2003 to 2012 and SEPA Strategy Director 2001 to 2003.
Campbell was a member of Scottish Government’s Expert Roundtable on Environment and Climate Change and Chair of the independent review of Cleaner Air for Scotland.
[5] The Fight for Scotland’s Nature campaign has been coordinated by Scottish Environment LINK. It is supported by 37 environmental organisations and has called for a Scottish Environment Act that embeds EU environmental principles, establishes a new environmental watchdog and sets new targets for reversing nature decline. More details can be found at: https://www.fightforscotlandsnature.scot/what-we-stand-for/
Earlier this year the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) published the most comprehensive assessment ever conducted on the global state of nature. The stark conclusion was that nature is undergoing dangerous rates of decline unprecedented in human history, eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food production, health and quality of life worldwide. For “marine systems”, the report concludes that “fishing has had the most impact on biodiversity (target species, non-target species and habitats) in the past 50 years alongside other significant drivers.” Nevertheless, the report also concludes it is not too late to make a difference if we start now with transformative change at every level, local to global.
Unfortunately, recent advice declared that an iconic component of Scotland’s marine biodiversity, North Sea cod, is again in a critical state and in need of emergency measures. In June, the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) scientific committee, an intergovernmental body, confirmed a significant decline in North Sea stocks and recommend a 70% reduction in total catch. Urgent leadership is therefore needed from all nations that catch North Sea cod, not least the Scottish Government who manage the majority of quota.
We have been here before. Cod stocks crashed so low through the 1980s and 90s that by the early 2000s ICES advised zero quotas, effectively suggesting the fishery should close. With the Scottish fleet largely taking the lead, various measures to recover the stock were introduced, including major fleet decommissioning followed by a Cod Recovery Plan that was agreed and implemented in 2009. Stock levels then recovered sufficiently for the Scottish cod fishery to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, an ecolabel for sustainability, in 2009. Yet ten years later, North Sea cod is again on the brink of collapse.
Paradoxically, some might say illogically, a key area closed for cod recovery during the last crash in 2001, has just been re-opened to the concern of many. Following an EU technical amendment to regulations that applied there, a 4,000 km2 area west of Shetland known as the “Windsock” was largely re-opened to bottom-towed fishing, including trawling, on 14th August this year. It overlaps the West Shetland Shelf Marine Protected Area (MPA) designated in 2014 to protect offshore subtidal sands and gravels, an important spawning habitat for cod. Perhaps also complicated by the wider politics of Brexit, management proposals under the Common Fisheries Policy for this MPA have stalled. In the absence of statutory fisheries protection measures, almost two decades of seabed recovery, thanks to respite from bottom-contacting fishing gears, is now at risk.
Representatives of the Scottish fishing industry swiftly responded by seeking to develop voluntary measures to manage fishing activity. However, whilst this response is welcome, proposed fisheries measures for the MPA already exist on paper, if not yet in EU regulations, developed by the Scottish Government through engaging Scottish and EU fishers and NGOs in a more inclusive process several years ago. We are concerned that the environmental status of the MPA, and a potential hotspot for cod recovery, will be jeopardised if sufficient protection is not put in place.
Cod is more than a mere commodity for food and income, playing a keystone role in the North Sea ecosystem as both predator and prey. Continued decline will further unravel the North Sea ecosystem, risking another species loss amidst a global biodiversity crisis. All UK administrations have already failed to bring commercial fish stocks and seafloor condition up to “Good Environmental Status”, the EU benchmark of ecological health. Offering direct protection to cod and their spawning grounds for many years, the Windsock provided proof positive of the ecological and potential commercial benefits of protecting areas of seabed from trawling. Scientific surveys revealed an average 78% greater catch of cod, particularly larger animals with vastly greater reproductive potential, and other species inside compared to outside. We need more such protected areas, not fewer.
Measures must also urgently be put in place that control access to cod grounds, support population recovery and increase accountability. Effective compliance and full documentation are vital, including remote electronic monitoring systems with cameras and GPS to provide confidence in where fish are caught and how. Scotland’s oceans are a public good and all have a stake in them. We input to the recent national discussion on the future of fisheries management in Scotland where all share a vision of well-managed seas brimming with life that can support livelihoods forever. In the midst of a climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, urgent plans to recover cod stocks must recognise where they belong, at the heart of the ecosystem. Recovery of nature must be at the core of all fisheries management.
Calum Duncan Head of Conservation Scotland, Marine Conservation Society Convenor, Scottish Environment LINK Marine Group
A new poll released today shows that more than three quarters of the Scottish public (86 per cent) say they are concerned about the potential threats to wildlife from climate change, habitat loss and pollution. In addition to this, a staggering 94 per cent have expressed that they see Scotland’s natural environment as ‘very important’ or ‘quite important’ to both Scotland’s economy and its national identity.
The survey was undertaken last month by Survation on behalf of Scottish Environment LINK, a coalition of Scotland’s leading charities. It revealed a huge strength of feeling among Scots for the country’s world – renowned nature. It also showed that almost all (92 per cent) of those surveyed believe nature and wildlife are important in making Scotland a good place to raise a family and are important to the health and wellbeing of people in Scotland.
Furthermore, 84% of people believe the Scottish Parliament should pass laws requiring the same or higher levels of environmental protection than current EU laws if the UK leaves the EU. This comes at a time when 1 in 11 species in Scotland is at risk of extinction.
This is why LINK has launched an unrelenting bid under the campaign Fight for Scotland’s Nature for Scotland to have its own Environment Act. The charities also feel that while the Scottish Government made measures to tackle the climate emergency central to last week’s Programme for Government announcement, the programme contained little detail on protecting Scotland’s environment and wildlife from the threats posed by Brexit.
More than half of those surveyed also believe that EU environmental principles should be passed into law by the Scottish Parliament and that either the Scottish Parliament or a new independent watchdog should have the power to issue instructions and enforce penalties against the Scottish Government if it fails to meet environmental standards and targets.
Deborah Long, chief officer of Scottish Environment LINK, said today: “The Scottish public place enormous value on Scotland’s wildlife and nature, and rightly so – our natural environment is integral to making Scotland a good place to live. People’s strength of concern about the threats facing our wildlife is clear, as is the determination that Brexit must not be allowed to weaken our environmental protections.
“It’s also clear that people believe that in the event of the UK leaving the EU, we need to make sure there are ways to hold the Scottish Government to account on environmental matters. Scottish Environment LINK is calling for a Scottish Environment Act that includes the establishment of a strong, well-resourced and independent watchdog.
“With Brexit potentially a matter of weeks away, it is now beyond urgent that the government sets out detailed plans for how Scotland will look after its environment in the event of departure from the EU.”
Notes
(1) Scottish Environment LINK is the forum for Scotland’s voluntary environment community, with over 35 member bodies representing a broad spectrum of environmental interests with the common goal of contributing to a more environmentally sustainable society.
LINK is a Scottish Charity (SC000296) and a Scottish Company Limited by guarantee (SC250899). LINK is core funded by Membership Subscriptions and by grants from Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Government and Charitable Trusts.
2) People aged 16+ and living in Scotland were interviewed via online panel. Data was weighted to the profile of all Scottish people aged 16+. Data was weighted by age, sex, region and 2016 Scottish Parliamentary constituency vote.
Targets for the weighted data were derived from Office of National Statistics data and the results of the 2016 Scottish Parliamentary election.
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