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A Strategic Framework For Scotland's Marine Environment
SUMMARY
1. This consultation paper seeks views on the scope and content of a strategic framework for Scotland's marine environment.
2. Scotland's marine and coastal waters support a diverse range of wildlife and habitats. They also provide food, recreation and energy for the people of Scotland and beyond. For all activity in our seas, striking the right balance between social, economic and environmental considerations is vitally important to the sustainable future of our country and of the marine life around our shores.
3. The Scottish Executive has developed a number of initiatives to address some of the main pressures on our marine environment and to manage better the impacts of human activities on our seas. In some cases those initiatives give effect to European Union (EU) and international obligations. The number of current initiatives demonstrates the drive for continuous improvement in the way the Scottish Executive promotes and delivers the sustainable development of Scotland's marine environment. The 2003 coalition Partnership Agreement, A Partnership for a Better Scotland, reinforced that drive through several new marine-related commitments, not least " to consult on the best strategy for protecting and enhancing all of Scotland's coastline, including the options of establishing a national coastline park and marine national parks".
4. The Scottish Executive recognises, however, that a range of initiatives can appear confusing and that there is a need to bring greater clarity to how current activities interrelate and what principal policy objectives they serve. There is also a need to review whether, despite present activity, there are any strategic issues not currently addressed and, if so, whether and how to take them forward and in what timeframe.
5. The Scottish Executive is therefore aiming to develop a strategic framework for Scotland's marine environment which will: provide for full stakeholder participation in devising appropriate management strategies and methods for our marine waters; establish a clear vision and objectives for the quality and sustainable development of our seas; provide the strategic link between the anticipated outputs from current activity and set the direction for any future initiatives; form the policy basis for Scotland's input to wider UK, EU and international developments; and set time lines for action but remain flexible and responsive to changing circumstances.
6. This consultation paper therefore sets out some of the background to the importance of our marine environment and the pressures on it. It summarises Scotland's existing EU and international obligations and describes Scottish initiatives underway to address those pressures. It focuses on action taken within the Scottish Executive's devolved responsibilities, but describes how we interact with the UK Government to influence matters for which responsibility is reserved. It presents an overarching vision for Scotland's marine environment with current supporting actions. Most importantly, it poses questions on the scope and content of a strategic framework, the current vision and actions, the need for review of existing marine-related legislation and how the development of the strategic framework, and the Scottish marine environment itself, might best be managed.
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