Scotland’s Forum for environmental organisations has announced the appointment of plant ecologist, turned network leader, Deborah Long, as Chief Officer. Deborah has extensive senior leadership experience in natural and cultural heritage in Scotland, as well as leadership of a multi-partner international consortium working in citizen science across Europe.
Announcing the appointment, Charles Dundas, Chair of Scottish Environment LINK, said:
Scottish Environment LINK exists to bring together the many and varied environmental and conservation organisations in Scotland to co-operate and speak together. Heading up an umbrella body like this requires someone with credibility within the sector, and considerable skills in strategy and organisation. I’m pleased to say that in Dr Deborah Long we have found someone who fits those requirements perfectly, and will considerably strengthen the voice for the environment in Scotland. I am confident that under her guidance the reputation and record of success which Scottish Environment LINK enjoys will continue to grow.”
Speaking about her new role, Deborah said:
I am so delighted to have the opportunity to join LINK at a crucial time for the environment, not just in Scotland but internationally too. The difference organisations can make by working together and maximising impact is hugely significant and increasingly important in today’s world. I look forward to working with the LINK team, members and our partners to tackle the challenges, make the most of opportunities and clear the hurdles to work towards full recognition of the environment in the development of policy and legislation affecting Scotland, its environment and its people.
From an early career in post doctoral research into landscape and vegetation history, Deborah has spent her career in Scotland interpreting and increasing awareness of cultural prehistoric landscapes in Argyll and then working with Plantlife to lead the team in native habitat and species conservation, policy and advocacy work across Scotland. Since 2016, Deborah has led an international consortium of partners from research, policy, scientific, business and eNGO sectors to demonstrate the potential for citizen observatories, specifically in the fields of soil and land management, climate change modelling and policy development.
Looking to the future, Charles Dundas said: The challenges facing the environment are greater than ever. The importance of working together to develop and delivery effective policy on conservation, access, environmental protection and rights has never been higher. With the appointment of Deborah as CO, we aim to extend our mission to enable our member organisations to contribute to better policy, to inspire the policy makers and the public to care for, protect and enjoy Scotland’s internationally acclaimed environment.
(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.
Machair, Atlantic salmon, white beaked dolphin, capercaillie and golden plover among unique Scottish habitats and species at risk.
Scotland’s nature, from our seas to the highest mountains, is coming under increasing pressure from climate change, a new report published today [Thurs 3rd Jan] finds.
Scotland’s Nature on Red Alert: Climate change impacts on Scottish biodiversity, a joint report by Scottish Environment LINK and WWF Scotland, focuses on the impact our changing climate is having on species in five specific habitats across the country.
The report highlights species and habitats at risk including:
Machair: Rising sea levels threaten this fertile, grassy habitat found nowhere on the planet except northern Scotland and north-west Ireland.
Atlantic salmon: Rising water temperatures and increased flooding is affecting the Atlantic Salmon and the species they feed on.
Snow bunting: A bird already listed in the UK’s ‘birds of conservation concern’, and found on the high tops of Scotland’s mountains, the Snow Bunting is under threat as rising temperatures lead to less snow, leaving it with nowhere to go
White beaked dolphin: Found in the sub-polar waters of the north Atlantic Ocean, rising sea water temperatures are reducing the dolphins’ range, pushing them further North.
Moorlands: Long term studies indicate that species diversity and vegetation of moorlands is changing. There is a visible drop of specialist species like dwarf willow and in addition to multiple threats, there is risk from climate change.
Craig Macadam, Scottish Environment LINK Vice-Chair said:
“From peatlands to pearl mussels, Scotland is home to many globally significant species and habitats. With these wildlife treasures comes an international responsibility to protect them for future generations.
“We need to give our species and habitats a fighting chance to adapt to climate change. It is important that we restore the health of our nature and improve its resilience to climate change impacts. We therefore need to set ambitious targets within the Climate Change Bill, ensuring that Scotland ends its contribution to climate change, and backs these up with action to secure the future of Scotland’s wildlife.”
Dr Sam Gardner, acting director at WWF Scotland said:
“Scotland is rightly proud of its diverse and unique flora and fauna, but we need to wake up to the fact it is increasingly under threat from climate change. It’s not just polar bears that are under threat, but our beloved Scottish species and habitats too.
“Nature is on the frontline of climate change. Even small increases in temperature threaten many of the plants and animals that give Scotland its iconic landscapes, but that we also depend on for food and pollination.
“That’s why it’s so important the Climate Change Bill currently going through the Scottish Parliament is strengthened to ensure that, within a generation, we end our role in climate change entirely.”
Contact details
Daphne Vlastari, Scottish Environment LINK Advocacy Manager
[3] This report is being published as MSPs are developing initial views on the new proposals made by the Scottish Government within the Climate Change Bill. LINK members and a wider coalition of Scottish environmental charities are seeking stronger action on climate change than what is being set out in the current Bill. Based on the existing science on climate change impacts on biodiversity, more ambitious targets need to be set, including a net zero emissions target for 2050, and a 77% reduction by 2030.
[4] Authored by Tamsin Morris, the report is a collaboration between Scottish Environment LINK and WWF Scotland.
[5] WWF is one of the world’s largest independent conservation organisations, active in nearly 100 countries. Our supporters – more than five million of them – are helping us to restore nature and to tackle the main causes of nature’s decline, particularly the food system and climate change. We’re fighting to ensure a world with thriving habitats and species, and to change hearts and minds so it becomes unacceptable to overuse our planet’s resources. https://www.wwf.org.uk/scotland WWF Scotland is a Member organisation of Scottish Environment LINK.
[6] 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. ukvps3.ie-dev.co.uk/scotlink-wordpress/
35 Scottish environmental charities, members of Scottish Environment LINK, welcomed recommendations to enshrine the right to a healthy environment in Scots law through a new Act of the Scottish Parliament.
The recommendations were made by the First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership, chaired by Professor Alan Miller. They echo the work of the UN Special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, John Knox, that the international community must recognise the human right to a healthy environment.
Charles Dundas, Chair of Scottish Environment LINK said:
“This is a hugely important recommendation which recognises the fundamental significance of the environment to our health and wellbeing. We cannot get to a fairer Scotland without a healthy environment.
If this recommendation is to meaningful, it must be possible to evidence how a right to a healthy environment can be realised in practice. The way to do that is through a Scottish Environment Act. This is why LINK’s ‘Fight for Scotland’s Nature’ campaign is calling for a Scottish Environment Act that enshrines EU environmental principles in Scots law, creates an independent watchdog to ensure robust implementation of legislation and sets up targets for future environmental ambition. We see those three asks as delivering on the ambition for a human right for a healthy environment”.
Mary Church, Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Head of Campaigns who leads LINK’s Legal Strategy Subgroup said:
“We warmly welcome the recommendation that the right to a healthy environment should be enshrined in Scots law, and trust that the First Minister and the new task force will give this and all the recommendations of the expert advisory group on human rights the priority they require.
“The right to a healthy environment, and the UN framework principles that elaborate it, underpin all other human rights. In the current context of increasingly urgent environmental problems like climate change and biodiversity collapse it is more important than ever that these rights are understood, incorporated into our laws and robustly upheld.
“We note that Scottish Ministers must move to comply with their obligations under the UN Aarhus Convention on access to justice in environmental cases in order to deliver the right to a healthy environment. The Scottish Government has a long history of foot-dragging on fully implementing the rights established by the Convention, which requires that individuals, communities and NGOs have affordable access to the courts to challenge decision making that adversely impacts on the environment.”
As the Advisory Group notes, “this overall right will include the right of everyone to benefit from healthy ecosystems which sustain human well-being as well the rights of access to information, participation in decision-making and access to justice”. More specifically, “the content of this right will be outlined … with reference to international standards, such as the Framework Principles on Human Rights and Environment developed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, and the Aarhus Convention”.
Enshrining a new right for a healthy environment confirms the importance of fully implementing existing international agreements such as the Aarhus Convention which requires governments to provide access to information, ensure public participation in decision-making and enable access to justice in environmental issues. LINK members have long supported the introduction of environmental courts or tribunals to ensure Scotland’s full compliance with international agreements.
Contact details
Daphne Vlastari, Scottish Environment LINK Advocacy Manager
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. ukvps3.ie-dev.co.uk/scotlink-wordpress/ /www.savescottishseas.org
The First Minister announced the Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership in the 2017 Programme for Government, and subsequently appointed Professor Alan Miller as Chair. Scottish Environment LINK members participated in the work of the Advisory Group by way of its reference group, and a roundtable on environmental rights. For more information: http://humanrightsleadership.scot/.
Scottish Environment LINK launched its campaign ‘Fight for Scotland’s Nature’ on 13 November, calling on Scottish Government to (a) enshrine EU environment principles into Scots law, (b) create an independent watchdog to ensure the robust implementation of legislation, and (c) set clear targets for future environmental ambition. For more information: fightforscotlandsnature.scot.
Scotland’s environment movement today (Wednesday 5th November) called on government to ensure Scotland’s environment is properly protected in order to secure the economic gains it provides. A new report, Valuing our Environment, launched today, shows that sustainable use of our environment underpins the economy by £17.2 billion a year, or more than a tenth of the country’s economic output.
On 26 September 2018, Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing made a statement to the Scottish Parliament on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and farm payments, in the context of Brexit. In this he confirmed that farm and rural businesses will receive ‘…their current payment entitlements largely as they currently are, and not just in 2019 but in every year until 2022’.
This means that the bulk of the Scottish CAP budget will continue to be paid out to farmers through direct payments, in the short term at least. This type of payment has been widely criticised as it is not linked to the delivery of any clear outcomes, is inequitably distributed and fails to address many of the structural and environmental challenges within the agricultural sector. Scottish Environment LINK has long argued for reform of such farm payments and for funding to be focused instead on delivering public goods and on assisting the adaptation and development of farm and other land based businesses. LINK members accept the continuation of such payments only in the short term and in order to facilitate a transition to a new rural policy.
The good news within the Cabinet Secretary’s statement was that the Agri-Environment-Climate Scheme (AECS), which supports environmentally friendly farming methods, will be open for applications in 2019. This means farmers and land managers will be able to enter five-year agreements for carrying out land management that helps wildlife and be guaranteed payments. The bad news was the absolute lack of clarity from the Cabinet Secretary on what happens after that to this scheme and to a wide range of other schemes and payments that currently form part of Scotland’s Rural Development Programme (SRDP).
Vicki Swales, Convener of LINK’s Land Group said:
“The Scottish Government has been silent on this matter so far even though this part of the CAP is, to our and many other minds, that which actually delivers identifiable outcomes and which can be most easily defended in terms of the expenditure of public money. Clarity on what happens from 2020 until the proposed introduction of a new policy in 2024 is urgently needed. We suggest that AECS and other critical SRDP schemes including woodland grants and advisory services should continue to be funded and effectively rolled forward during any transition period.
“All of the above simply strengthens the case for decisions to be taken soon on what kind of future farm support we need and want from 2024. But here things get very muddy. Over the last 18 months or so, a number of groups have been established at the request of the Cabinet Secretary to look at a range of different issues. These included the Agriculture Champions, the Griggs Greening Group and the National Council of Rural Advisers. None of these appear to have been given a specific remit to advise on what future farm support should look like; indeed, the NCRA’s interim report was entirely silent on the matter of farming policy. While their final report published just last week does not expressly address agriculture and land use policy either, they do call for a more joined up way of thinking about the rural economy. We agree with this in principle, and welcome the alignment to the National Performance Framework, but stress that policy needs to be joined up across the whole rural sector, and include both environmental and social ambitions, as well as economic ones”.
“To confuse things further and add to the proliferation of groups, the recent Stability and Simplicity consultation proposed the establishment of a ‘Simplification Taskforce’ to run for 12 months to ‘consider responses to this consultation and determine and test possible changes in our operating approach, with the intention of improving the experience for recipients of CAP payments, reducing complexity in our systems and improving public value’. This suggested a focus on current CAP schemes rather than any new policy.”
In his statement to Parliament, the Cabinet Secretary also said: ‘we will get on with establishing a task force to produce measures that will simplify the farm and rural support payments system from 2022 onwards’ and he later added that ‘It is important that Parliament is given an opportunity to contribute its views. I therefore undertake to discuss with all parliamentary groups how best to achieve that, and to lodge a motion that will allow us to debate and, I hope, to agree the principles that will underpin Scotland’s future farm policy.’
Pete Ritchie, Leader of LINK’s Food and Farming Subgroup said:
“Exactly how the outcomes of these different groupings, processes, consultations and debates will influence Scottish Government’s thinking is anyone’s guess, especially given the lack of clarity of remit for many of them. Whilst there is useful material to draw on in all of the above we’ve reached a point where clarity, coherence and transparency are now paramount. Scotland needs to devise a fit for purpose system of farm support as a matter of some urgency.
We propose that the Cabinet Secretary ditches the idea of a ‘Simplification Taskforce’ and instead sets up a Future Farm Support Taskforce to work over the next 12-18 months with the following Terms of Reference:
‘To research, design and consult on a system of farm support which:
1) helps to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals, to which Scotland is a signatory, and on the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework
2) meets public policy objectives on the production of healthy food, the provision of a range of public goods, and on the social cohesion of vulnerable rural areas
3) assists generational renewal and short food chains
4) is deliverable, equitable (taking into account disadvantages of geography, scale, tenure), auditable and evaluable.
The Taskforce will work transparently and will draw on the expertise and data held by the key research institutes, and will commission specific reports and impact assessments where needed.’
The membership of the Taskforce should be broad and inclusive across the range of public policy objectives future farm support will need to deliver on and its work should be supported by a dedicated secretariat provided by Government.
We’ll be pressing the Cabinet Secretary to take up our idea and to bring some much-needed clarity to what has been a messy and often confused state of affairs to date.”
For more information, please contact: Daphne Vlastari, LINK Advocacy Manager at daphne@scotlink.org
In response to the publication of the National Council of Rural Advisers (NRCA) report “Discussion document: a rural conversation”, Vicki Swales Convenor of LINK’s Land Group and Pete Ritchie Convenor of LINK’s Food and Farming Subgroup issued the following statement:
‘The NCRA was tasked with recommending future action that could sustain a vibrant and flourishing rural economy. Given that the natural environment underpins so much economic activity in rural areas – both in terms of land based businesses such as farming and forestry – and Scotland’s growing tourism and food sectors, it is hugely disappointing to see so little emphasis on the environment in the NCRA report. There is passing reference only to Scotland’s natural capital, and to natural assets being the foundation for a vibrant rural economy, in the introduction. Whilst we welcome the call for the value of environmental impact to be accounted for, some acknowledgement that natural capital is currently being depleted and needs concerted effort to address this is needed.
Tackling climate change – which is already having significant impacts on rural businesses – and halting the loss of biodiversity as well as maintaining healthy soils and water resources, are all essential to future economic prosperity. The report is silent on these challenges and fails to recognise that not responding to them will, ultimately, have economic impacts – both direct costs and missed opportunities for business development. Protecting, maintaining and enhancing our natural environment must be an ambition at the heart of any future rural economic strategy, with a clear plan for how this can be achieved.
The lack of environmental focus in the report reflects, in our view, the make up of the Council itself – with no one appointed to it who explicitly brings environmental knowledge and expertise – and the limited wider engagement to date with individuals and organisations who can provide such input.
While we recognise the positive steps Scottish Government is taking to defend against the damaging consequences of Brexit for the environment, agriculture and the rural economy, we are disappointed with the lack of a coordinated, transparent and inclusive process for developing farm and rural support policy post-2020.
We call on the Scottish Government to start an evidence-based process which fully engages stakeholders -including SEFARI as well as rural local authorities and communities, farming, forestry and environmental interests – in shaping future policy, linked to the recently announced national outcomes and our aspirations for tackling climate change, restoring biodiversity and becoming a good food nation”.
LINK members will be considering how to engage in the consultation launched alongside the report in order to provide more detailed views.
For more information please contact: Daphne Vlastari, LINK Advocacy Manager | Email: daphne@scotlink.org
Notes
[1] The NCRA report can be accessed here: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/5fffcc_9741442988674eefb46be72f9641dbaf.pdf
[2] Scottish Environment LINK’s response to the Agriculture Champions report can be accessed here:
[4] Earlier in 2018, LINK commissioned Survation to conduct polling of 1,000 Scots to identify public views on future support payments, with 77% of Scots indicating that they want farming to deliver for our environment and climate.
[6] Other reports commissioned on behalf of the Scottish Government, such as the recommendations of the paper by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Greening Group on developing principles for greening beyond the context of the current CAP provides clear recommendations in terms of a vision for farming, funding as well as suggestions for a framework for future policy and support mechanisms.
On 5 June, in celebration of World Environment Day, Scottish Environment LINK members are launching their Species Champion 100-day Challenge. For 100 days over 100 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who have accepted to become a Species Champion will be participating in a series of actions raising awareness about their selected species, encouraging policy changes in support of their species and raising awareness about wider biodiversity concerns in Scotland.
LINK’s award-winning initiative “Species Champions” pairs MSPs with species that are under threat in Scotland. With almost 1 in 10 species in Scotland at risk of extinction, political support for protecting our precious natural environment has never been more critical.
Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South Constituency and Convener of the Scottish Parliament Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee commented:
“Being Species Champion for the Woolly willow has been, and continues to be, an enjoyable learning experience. I am delighted that there are now 100 MSPs committed to championing species. The 100-day challenge will provide a good focal point for this and I look forward to hearing about the actions taken by MSPs to promote their species.”
Craig Macadam, Scottish Environment LINK Vice-Chair and Wildlife Subgroup Convenor added:
“With the support of over 100 MSP Species Champions, representing 78% of the Scottish Parliament and covering every corner of Scotland we hope to put biodiversity at the centre of the Parliament’s attention. Our environment has no voice so we need Species Champions to stand up for it.
From planning to agriculture and from tourism to healthcare, the protection and enhancement of our biodiversity must be acknowledged as a key ingredient to our success as a nation – and our policies need to reflect that. If we don’t, we will fall short on our 2020 global biodiversity commitments and our ambitions for a sustainable Scotland.”
In response to the publication of the Report by the Roundtable on Environment and Climate Change on Environmental Governance in Scotland on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, Scottish Environment LINK Chair, Charles Dundas of Woodland Trust Scotland stated:
“We welcome the publication of the report and its recommendations to address the environmental governance gap created as a result of the UK’s departure from the EU. We need robust mechanisms to ensure that we continue to monitor, implement and enforce environmental protections. To achieve this a suite of measures are needed, including a means for citizens, communities and NGOs to raise concerns and complaints. This may be best achieved by the creation of a “watchdog” body, that is empowered to refer cases of non-compliance to the courts, possibly in first instance of an environmental court.
We look forward to engaging on this issue with the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament and hope that a UK-wide discussion can take place with the administrations of the four countries of the UK recognising these are joint challenges that need to be addressed in a way consistent with devolution.”
For more information please contact Daphne Vlastari, Scottish Environment LINK Advocacy Manager: daphne@scotlink.org, 0757 211 33 79.
Editors notes:
(1) The Report by the Roundtable on Environment and Climate Change on Environmental Governance in Scotland on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU can be viewed here: www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/06/2221
The expert group involved in making the assessments included in this report has focused on maintaining Scotland’s global position as a leader in environmental governance and performance. Whilst much may depend on UK:EU negotiations and arrangements provided and agreed with the UK in due course, and much remains uncertain at this point, consideration is given directly to Scotland’s policy and governance needs and to the main issues arising. Key areas where there is a risk of disadvantage without intervention concern access to expertise in professional policy and practice networks,access to skills and the value of oversight mechanisms provided by the Commission and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) around verifying compliance with and enforcement of environmental law. Options for retaining membership of professional networks and securing appropriate oversight mechanisms are considered.
(2) Members of the expert group included representatives from LINK members: Lloyd Austin of RSPB Scotland, and Jonny Hughes of Scottish Wildlife Trust.
(3) Scottish Environment LINK views on the governance gap are captured in the following briefing: http://www.scotlink.org/files/documents/LINK-submission-to-Finance-and-Constitution-Committee-on-impact-of-EU-Withdrawal-Bill-on-devolution-settlement-and-expected-LCM.pdf
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