December 2nd, 2008 by ie-adminScottish Environment LINK, the coalition of Scotland’s environment charities, today welcomed the inclusion of a UK Marine Bill in the Queen’s speech.
We are very pleased that this historic piece of legislation will finally become a reality. The UK Marine Bill is very important for Scotland as many activities in Scottish waters are still reserved to Westminster. We must now ensure that the forthcoming Scottish Marine Bill and the UK Marine Bill fit seamlessly together. The resulting Marine Acts must establish clear duties to enable protection, restoration and recovery of Scotland’s seas, and the marine wildlife and coastal communities that depend on them
A new report published today by Scottish Environment LINK, to coincide with the conclusion of the Government’s consultation on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), points the way forward for a fairer distribution of funding which would help more farmers as well as the environment cope with the changing priorities for the countryside.
The current CAP does Scotland no favours at all. Our farmers and crofters receive a ridiculously low share of the European pot, and yet they could be producing high quality food as well as enhancing the environment for the good of the whole country. Scotland has some of Europe’s finest farmland, supporting a vast range of wildlife – and yet this goes unrecognised in the current CAP funding structure. It is time we lifted our country from the bottom of the EU’s agricultural funding league table, and demanded that the valuable contribution our land managers make is properly recognised. We are calling on the Scottish Government to take a lead in renegotiating what the Common Agricultural Policy can provide for Scotland.
Scottish folksinger Jimmie Macgregor today (5th of February) announced that MSP Willie Coffey has won Scotland’s first MSP Landscape competition for his evocative description of Loudoun Valley in his Ayrshire constituency.
The competition, sponsored by Scottish Environment LINK, asked MSPs to name their best loved landscape with a brief explanation of what makes their landscape so special. The responses from 29 MSPs, including John Swinney, Patricia Ferguson, Murdo Fraser, Tavish Scot and Robin Harper, makes up a diverse picture of Scotland’s internationally renown landscapes. These include classic mountain chains, landmarks in towns and cities, beaches and urban green spaces.
Willie Coffey MSP won for describing his favourite landscape as:
“Breathtaking, Serene, Historic, Moody, Broody, Alive, Bustling, Dynamic Towns, Castles, Farms, Schools, People, Wildlife – in Perfect Harmony, the Loudoun Valley”.
“Scotland’s rich biodiversity, with our unique range of habitats from temperate rainforest to high mountain tops, sustains a large part of our rural economies and underpins our sense of place. While we have made significant progress over the last 3 years in conserving some of that biodiversity, we still have a long way to go to meet our target to halt the loss of biodiversity in Scotland by 2010. The debate on Thursday, following the report to parliament published in December, provides us all with the opportunity to assess progress to date and plan action to meet future targets. As Scotland necessarily takes on more work to meet this target, less is likely to be achieved as the government’s funding commitment to support this work declines. We are looking forward to an informed debate on Thursday on how to maintain our rate of progress towards the 2010 target.
‘We welcome today’s ground-breaking announcement by the Cabinet Secretary to protect Lamlash Bay, the first time a marine area has been protected as a result of proposals developed by local representatives. The Community of Arran Seabed Trust are to be particularly commended for their tireless work in developing their proposals: surveying Lamlash Bay, raising awareness of Arran’s marine environment, and working with local stakeholders, environment groups, SNH and the Scottish Government to provide the momentum leading to today’s announcement.’
A report calling for marine protected areas in order to safeguard wildlife of special importance to Scotland will be published today. The report by Scottish Environment LINK (LINK), a coalition of Scotland’s major environment groups, argues that a network of ‘nationally important marine areas’ must be included in the upcoming Scottish Marine Bill, if Scotland is to save its unique marine wildlife, such as reefs and sea beds, basking sharks and black guillemots for future generations.
See also: the Finding NIMAs report.
Following today’s emergency meeting of Aberdeenshire Council, fourteen of Scotland’s top environmental organisations, all members of Scottish Environment LINK, have sent a joint letter to John Swinney MSP raising profound concerns about the integrity of planning process provoked by the Donald Trump’s proposed golf development in Scotland…
A Scottish Marine Bill was a welcome early promise by the SNP, yet there is no sign of it in next year’s legislative programme. A Bill is needed to ensure future generations are able to enjoy and make a sustainable living from Scotland’s world-class seas. Cross-party support for a Scottish Marine Bill would ensure such an urgently-needed Bill would sail through parliament. This is a win-win opportunity waiting to be grasped.
As ministers and MSPs return to the parliament this week, a coalition of all Scotland’s major environmental organisations have set them a challenge: Take a lead on the environment now, or soon Scotland will not be able to cope with climate change, or reverse the trends of loss of wildlife and the exhaustion of Scotland’s resources. In their report ‘Scotland 2011: Scottish Environment LINK’s Challenge to the New Scottish Government’, which was delivered to ministers and MSPs today, the 34 organisations behind the challenge set out their vision for a sustainable future for Scotland and provide solutions for how to get there.
Scotland’s leading environment groups today welcomed the announcement by Environment Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead that the new Scottish government intends to introduce a Scottish Marine Bill. Speaking on behalf of the Scottish Environment LINK Marine Task Force, convenor Calum Duncan, said “We are delighted that the new government recognises Scotland’s seas are in a guddle and need urgent attention. A Scottish Marine Bill must urgently deliver effective planning and protection for our coasts and seas, linking closely to the UK Marine Bill.”
