This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Draft Nature Conservation Bill
11/03/2003
Proposals to give added protection to Scotland's
wildlife and natural habitats were launched today.
The draft Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill outlines
measures to strengthen protection for Scotland's most
special natural heritage sites (SSSIs), places a duty on
public organisations to further biodiversity and proposes
new legislation to tackle wildlife crime.
The draft Bill is being launched for consultation and
the public has until 6 June to comment on the proposals. In
view of the pending election it will be for the next
administration to take forward any legislation arising from
the proposals published today.
Environment and Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie
said:
"The Scottish Executive is committed to conserving and
enhancing Scotland's exceptional natural heritage, both as
a national resource and as a contribution to international
efforts on biodiversity.
"This Bill is fundamentally about improved protection
for Scotland's natural environment. It will deliver new
safeguards for Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)
and for vulnerable species. Scotland's most special natural
heritage sites deserve - and will get - enhanced
protection.
"The interdependence of people and nature is most
obvious in the work of land managers - the farmers,
crofters, foresters, conservationists and landowners who
manage and work most of Scotland's SSSIs. The Bill
recognises that central position. It will provide a new
framework for supporting and encouraging the work of land
managers in protecting our natural heritage.
"The draft Bill proposes robust and enforceable new
powers to protect SSSIs from operations on the site as well
on land beyond the boundaries of our most valuable natural
heritage sites. They will apply too for the first time, to
the activity of third parties.
"The link between people and place is central to the
work of our public agencies and that is why we are placing
a new duty on all public authorities to further the
conservation of biodiversity. This duty requires all public
bodies to help deliver on Scotland's international
commitments under the Rio Convention, as well as taking
forward domestic obligations under the aims and objectives
of a Scottish Biodiversity Strategy.
"We have already introduced legislation to protect
Scotland's wildlife from the activity of criminals and we
intend to do more. We will be consulting on a detailed list
of further wildlife crime measures for inclusion in the
draft Bill."
The draft Bill contains significant new powers to
protect SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest). In
contrast to the current situation, it will in future be
possible to prevent (rather than simply delay) operations
and activities which genuinely threaten SSSIs.
The provisions of the draft Bill will ensure the proper
protection of an SSSI interest from operations both
directly on the sites and land beyond the SSSI
boundary.
Compensation will no longer be paid to landowners who
threaten SSSIs with speculative new developments. Such
payments have been a source of public controversy in the
past. But landowners will be compensated where the clearly
established existing management of the land has to change
in order to protect and SSSI. The new arrangements are set
out in draft Financial Guidelines which accompany the draft
bill.
There will be new formal rights of appeal to the
Scottish Land Court in cases where the new powers to
prevent operations on an SSSI or to impose a Land
Management Order are used.
The draft Nature Conservation Bill will link with and
support the draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, launched
for consultation on February 25. Public bodies will have to
have regard to the Strategy in fulfilling their
biodiversity duty.
The draft Nature Conservation Bill has been developed
with the assistance of the Expert Working Group and is
follows from the policy paper
The Nature of Scotland, launched by Sam Galbraith
in May 2001.
The Nature of Scotland outlined ways to provide
incentives for the positive management of SSSIs by their
owners or occupiers, so that more land managers could
benefit form owning an SSSI. Positive management
arrangements are explained in the Financial Guidelines
accompanying the draft bill.
The draft Nature Conservation Bill is being put out to
the statutory three month consultation period. Although the
principles underlying the Bill have broad support across
the political spectrum, it will be for the administration
which forms the Scottish Executive after May 1 to decide
how it wishes to proceed.