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CHAPTER 9: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Summary

9.1 This chapter focuses on protection of the natural environment, including bio-diversity, natural habitats, species, and external threats to these, such as pollution and climate change. It describes the varying policy and institutional arrangements that have been put in place at the international, European and local level to address the rising and increasingly complex threats to the natural environment.

Global

9.2 A key area of debate at the global level is the lack of an institutional framework or international body to address concerns about global threats to the natural environment, coupled by legitimacy concerns and the conflicting demands of nation-states. There is clearly a divide between those members of the international community who accept the need to reduce carbon emissions and those more focused on innovation to solve the problem of global warming. This is very much reflected in policy responses from different groups of nations and the lack of authority from international institutions. As evidenced by the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, there is a distinct division between the developed world's demand for environmental protection and the needs of developing countries to exploit natural resources in an attempt to secure the funds to promote social justice.

European

9.3 The need for renewable energy sources and cleaner technologies has long been recognised, as has the need to remove or decrease subsidies to fossil fuels, but a debate still rages within the European literature as to how best to achieve the required transitions. The 'value-action gap', between the views of individuals and their actual behaviour, is a considerable problem. This has lead to an emphasis on the need for participative decision-making. The need to integrate policy to achieve optimum effect has been highlighted, alongside the need for a concerted information campaign that best utilises education.

UK

9.4 The effects of the 1980s neo-liberal thrust to policy-making have had considerable impact on the way the UK government approaches industry and the business community. A range of policy responses has been implemented, from mandatory measures to awareness-raising, with an emphasis on education. There is a growing realisation of the need for coordination between local authorities and central government, and the relationship between environmental protection and areas such as housing and social mobility is also becoming more salient.

Scottish

9.5 Considerable efforts have been made to implement EU Directives in effective ways, sometimes differing from the approaches taken in England and Wales. Notable attention is being paid to enhancing the enforcement of environmental law (including nature conservation and wildlife law) to increase its effectiveness and public confidence in the regulatory system. A strong emphasis on using environmental law to address environmental justice issues has developed and provides a new focus for environmental regulation in addition to environmental risk. A range of measures to implement the Aarhus Convention (1998) obligations, on access to environmental information and public participation, have also been introduced.

Global

Priorities

9.6 There is still a debate around the alignment of environmental issues with the nation-state global system. No one international body or institution has been able to emerge as a leader to champion environmental issues, exposing a jurisdictional gap in the governance of the environment (Ivanova, 2005; International Task Force on Global Public Goods, 2004). The problem is particularly evident with fisheries, where the needs of ecosystems have failed to be recognised as policies and are instead based on political boundaries, with no international law to provide a framework for agreement between states (Ivanova, 2005).

9.7 Climate change and its increasing influence on the life systems of the Earth is becoming all-pervading, highlighting the importance of adaptive measures to help maintain vulnerable communities, eco-systems and exposed infrastructures. Just a few facts based on present data suggest why there is a need for fundamental integration of the full range of policy measures demanded by the goal of sustainable development. For example, the current rate of warming exceeds anything experienced in the last 10,000 years. If global climate change is kept within two degrees Celsius, there will be considerably more options for bio-diversity management. Beyond this figure and the outlook appears to be almost certainly dire (Green et al, 2003). For the last decade or so the North Atlantic has also been considerably warmer than the long-term average ( ICES, 2005).

9.8 The literature suggests consensus that more emphasis on pollution prevention and product design will be needed in the future, along with a greater emphasis on monitoring and assessment. This will make our approach to environmental protection more forward-looking, and concentred on remedying past impacts and controlling current practices (DeSimone and Popoff with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2000). With the example of fisheries, multi-species models are being encouraged in order to assess the actual impact of fishing practices on an eco-system, rather than a specific or targeted species ( ICES, 2005a).

Policy responses

9.9 The UN Environment Programme ( UNEP) is the principal strategic global environmental authority (although its authority over nation-states is a matter for debate) providing a focal point for environmental action and coordination within the UN system. The UNEP, working with other stakeholders, plays a key role in the implementation of the environmental dimensions of sustainable development, including commitments from the Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs) and World Summit on Sustainable Development ( WSSD). The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities is one example of this ( UNEP/ GPA, 2005).

9.10 The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD), an outcome of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, aims to ensure the conservation of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of its benefits. The Convention relies heavily on action at the national level. Since 2000 each party to the Convention submits a progress report outlining the extent to which the Convention obligations have been met.

9.11 The US, Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea recently announced their own agreement to end climate change, based on innovation and economic growth. Without time-tables, targets or commitments, this development is seemingly nothing more than an agreement on energy technology (Greenpeace, 2005).

Possible lessons

9.12 The Corporate Sunshine Working Group (2005) is an alliance of investors, environmental organizations, unions and public interest groups, working to enforce and expand the social and environmental disclosure requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, where members file enforcement complaints regarding companies' inadequate environmental and social reporting. The group undertakes research, writing and public education.

9.13 The International Right to Know Campaign (2005) unites more than 200 environmental, labour, social justice and human rights organizations lobbying for international right-to-know legislative proposal. Modelled on domestic right-to-know laws, this would require, for instance, U.S. companies to report on the key environmental, labour and human practices of overseas operations.

9.14 Save Our Wild Salmon (2005) is a coalition of conservation organizations, commercial and sport-fishing associations, businesses, river groups, and taxpayer advocates committed to restoring Pacific Northwest wild salmon and the communities that depend on them. Its mission is to restore runs of salmon to the Columbia and Snake River Basins, and in 2000, the coalition organised a petition of 232,000 Americans (the second-largest number of people ever to comment on a federal agency action) seeking a federal salmon recovery plan.

European

Priorities

9.15 The 'value-action gap', between expressed intention and actual behaviour, has been given particular recognition, within Europe, as a challenge in the pursuit of more sustainable development (Barr, 2004). There is also a provocative debate about the role of participative decision-making, with a relatively new argument being that too much environmental decision-making based on consensus leads to the dilution of powerful conservation metaphors and ultimately legitimises current power relationships (Peterson, Peterson and Peterson, 2005).

9.16 The EU is very open in its use of negotiating membership to improve the environmental records of prospective member states. The European Neighbourhood Policy is also being used to encourage better environmental practices and cooperation with countries to the South and East of the European Union ( EU, 2005), while the European Environment Agency is encouraging further integration of policy in line with sustainable development needs ( EEA, 2005).

9.17 By 2010, the EU-15 are set to cut their CO2 emissions by 7.7% of 1990 levels, just shy of the Kyoto Protocol commitment of 8%. However, six EU-15 Member States plan to use credits from emissions-saving projects in third countries through the Kyoto Protocol's 'flexible mechanisms', which is expected to lead to a further 1.1 % reduction. The EU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading and Climatic Change Programme is also expected to further reduce emissions.

9.18 Various climate action scenarios analysed by the European Environmental Agency ( EEA) would see EU greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 40% by 2030. Over half of these reductions would be based on achievable technologies within Europe, with the remaining reductions being the result of international emission trading abroad. The target of energy-related domestic CO2 emissions 11% below 1990 levels by 2030, is achievable if the EU does the following.

• Improves energy efficiency, particularly in households, services and industry.
• Changes the way energy is generated. More than two thirds of the CO2 emissions reductions are expected from a shift to low-carbon or non-carbon fuels. Combined heat and power will increase its share of electricity production.
• Removes environmentally harmful subsidies to fossil fuels. Subsidies to energy in the EU-15 were EUR 29 billion in 2001, 73% oriented towards the support of fossil fuels.
• Invests in renewable energy sources (wind power and biomass in particular), alongside with targets.
• Explores new technologies for carbon capture and storage, serving as a transition technology towards a low-carbon energy system.
• Increases research and development in clean technology.
• Raises awareness among the European public, as well as European business, on the role they can play in diminishing the energy intensity of the economy ( EEA, 2005a).

9.19 More specifically on biodiversity, the EU has set itself the target of halting bio-diversity loss by 2010, though there are questions as to how best to implement the birds and habitats directives in order to achieve this ( EEA, 2004).

Policy responses

9.20 The focus at the European level is on the integration of environmental controls, through key directives: the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive 96/61/EC ( EU, 1996, OJ L 257, 10.10.96, p 26) and the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC ( OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p 1). There is also a range of directives promoting more sustainable practices particularly in waste management: the Landfill Directive 99/31/EC, OJ L182, 16.7.99, p 1; the End of Life Vehicles Directive 2000/53/EC ( OJ L269, 21.10.2000, p 34) and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive 2002/96/EC ( OJ L037, 13.02.2003, p 24). Regulatory measures demonstrate interest in smarter regulation including more proportionate measures.

9.21 A key directive for promoting sustainable development at a strategic level in plans and programmes is the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive 2001/42/EC ( OJ L197, 21.07.2001, p 30), which ensures that an environmental dimension is incorporated at stage of plan and programme formulation.

9.22 Equally, there has been a growing interest in alternative regulatory mechanisms which harness market forces rather than reliance on command and control measures. For example, Directive 2003/87/EC, ( OJ L275, 25.10.2003, p 32) sets up a greenhouse gas emissions-trading system to implement the EU's Kyoto Protocol obligations. Emissions-trading is seen as one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Such alternative approaches to regulation are complemented by mechanisms to encourage voluntary action such as the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme under Regulation 761/2001 ( OJ L114, 24.04.2001, p 1).

9.23 The principal framework for action on environmental protection is comprised of the sixth Environmental Action Programme ( EAP), its predecessors the Fifth European Community environment programme: towards sustainability, and their respective thematic strategies. The fifth programme set out to create new, more constructive relations between actors in the environmental sector, transform patterns of growth to encourage sustainable development and to encourage the concept of shared responsibility. The sixth programme, Environment 2010: Our Future, Our Choice, has outlined four priorities for urgent action:

• Climate change
• Nature and biodiversity
• Environment and health and quality of life
• Natural resources and waste

9.24 The programme has seven thematic strategies:

• Clean Air For Europe ( CAFE)
• Soil protection
• Sustainable use of pesticides
• Protect and conserve the marine environment
• Waste prevention and recycling
• Sustainable use of natural resources
• Urban environment

Consultation and policy formation are currently underway in all the thematic strategies, but substantial developments have already been outlined in the areas outlined in the remainder of this section.

Water

9.25 The marine strategy from the sixth EAP aims to promote sustainable use of the seas and conservation of marine ecosystems - focusing on sites holding a high biodiversity value - and, in line with conclusions from the 2001 Gothenburg Summit, to halt bio-diversity decline by 2010. The strategy also aims to achieve change in fisheries management and progressively reduce discharges, emissions and losses of substances hazardous to the marine environment, ultimately reducing the discharge levels of man-made synthetic structures to zero, and eliminate human-induced eutrophication problems by 2010.

9.26 This is complemented by the Water Framework Directive ( EU 2000), which, replacing a raft of earlier EU directives on specific water controls and water quality, aims to improve water quality, promote sustainable water use and reduce dangers, such as flooding, improve aquatic habitats for wildlife and stop the deterioration of wetlands. The Directive promotes integrated, holistic management of human impacts on water resources through river basin management planning. This includes abstraction, impoundment and engineering operations that affect the water environment, as well as point source and diffuse pollution. It marks a move away from purely chemical-based quality standards to ecological and chemical-based quality standards for surface water and quantitative and chemical-based standards for groundwater, and it provides for proportionate tiers of regulation to reflect potential environmental damage from any activity.

Waste and recycling

9.27 The Thematic Strategy on Waste Prevention and Recycling highlights the lack of a comprehensive approach to waste. The European Community legislation has so far covered a limited range of materials, for example packaging, end-of-life vehicles and waste electrical and electronic equipment, which account for just 6% of total waste generation. The strategy hopes to address this, using a Cost Benefit Analysis ( CBA) framework to define optimal recycling rates, and establish robust targets.

9.28 The Thematic Strategy on Sustainable Use of Resources proposes to review the impact of subsidies and also establish targets, highlighting the need to de-couple economic growth from environmental degradation. The strategy places an emphasis on eco-efficiency and the use of market-based and economic instruments.

9.29 The Basel Convention (2005; originally 1989) has continued to regulate and control the movement of hazardous waste, but also has a renewed focus for 2000-2010 on decreasing the levels of waste, encouraging better practice and use of renewables. It is implemented in the EU by Regulation 259/93 on the supervision and control of the shipments of waste within, into and out of the European Community OJ L030, 6.2.93, p 1).

Biodiversity

9.30 The Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy ( PEBLDS) complement the aims of the thematic strategies laid out in the sixth EAP. Endorsed as far back as October 1995 by member states of the UN-Economic Commission for Europe region, the strategy has four specific aims to be achieved by 2015:

• substantially reduce threats to Europe's biological and landscape diversity;
• increase the resilience of Europe's biological and landscape diversity;
• strengthen Europe's ecological coherence;
• and ensure full public involvement in the conservation of biological and landscape diversity.

9.31 Natura 2000 was established under the EC Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC, OJ L206, 22.7.92, p 7) and constitutes a Union-wide network of nature conservation sites, comprising Special Areas of Conservation ( SACs), designated under the habitats directive, and Special Protection Areas ( SPAs), classified under the EC Wild Birds Directive (79/409/EEC, OJ L103, 25.4.79, p 1).

Health and environmental protection

9.32 The EU has outlined the importance of integrating health with environmental policy with the Environment and Health Strategy, also referred to as the SCALE (Science, Children, Awareness, Legal instrument, Evaluation) initiative. The strategy aims to promote better understanding of the interactions between human health and the environment, utilising this understanding to reduce the impact of environmental factors and integrate information on the state of the environment, the ecosystem and human health, eventually contributing to the development of an integrated Community policy.

Air quality

9.33 In June 2000, Regulation ( EC) No 2037/2000 was created to phase-out Ozone Depleting Substances ( ODS). This is complemented by continued agricultural and fisheries reform, energy initiatives, the action plan on environmental technologies and regulations such as the REACH regulatory framework for chemicals.

9.34 In early 2005, the UK ratified the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (The Aarhus Convention). The Convention aims to ensure 'environmental democracy' throughout the UNECE region ( UNECE, 1998). This commitment to the Aarhus Convention was followed up at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, when the UK government signed up to the Partnership for Principle 10.

9.35 Held every two years, The European Business Awards for the Environment play a crucial role in demonstrating progress on environmental and sustainable development issues worldwide. The next round of the Awards will be in 2006.

Possible lessons

9.36 LIFE: in 2000 the European Union adopted Regulation 2000/1655/EC concerning the Financial Instrument for the Environment ( LIFE), published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 28 July 2000 (E1655/2000). The EU- LIFE regulation, a programme devoted to supporting and developing EU environmental policy, provides financial support for projects that contribute to the development, updating and implementation of Community environmental policy. In 2004, the European Parliament agreed to extend this regulation for a further two years to the end of 2006, the end of the current financial perspective (Defra, 2005c).

9.37 The Access Initiative establishes common benchmarks in information, working to achieve consensus on government performance evaluation and indicators, while developing a common methodology for assessment (Access Initiative 2005; Ivanova, 2005).

9.38 Eionet (European Environmental Information and Observation Network) is a network of the European Environment Agency and Member Countries, connecting National Focal Points in the EU and accession countries, European Topic Centres, National Reference Centres, and Main Component Elements, providing information on the environment in Europe and the efficacy of EU policies.

9.39 A National System for Monitoring Biodiversity and Protected Areas in Bulgaria was set up with the assistance of the ECNC to offer reliable information on the biodiversity of the main kinds of ecosystems in Bulgaria. The NBMS helps to assess the robustness of national nature conservation policy and measures to halt the loss of biodiversity.

9.40 EnRisk-Environmental Risk Assessment project assesses environmental risks in agriculture in Europe, testing agri-environmental indicators. The project focuses on pesticides, soil erosion, biodiversity and landscapes and eutrophication.

UK

Priorities

9.41 The Thatcher years, coupled with the effects of prevailing neo-liberal doctrine, diluted environmental regulations to allow businesses more freedom (Howes, 2005). Today, the Government's focus is arguably weighted too much on advanced technologies at the expense of science-based integrated appraisal methods (Hammond, 2004).

9.42 There is a general impasse as to the correct level at which to achieve sustainable development, whether to decentralise to the local level or to work from the top down (Dresner, 2002). Considerable emphasis has been placed by some on our rights and particularly our rights to a sustainable life (Friends of the Earth International, 2004). The policy-making process is also changing at the national and regional levels as new norms and institutions for the global environment emerge. That said, sub-state politics continue to influence the nature of respective national responses to international environmental problems (Schreurs, 1997).

9.43 Localisation of environmental issues and policy responses is also becoming more prevalent, with local authorities accepting a share of the burden. For example in April 2000, Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act ( EPA) 1990 came into force, introducing a new regime for the regulation of contaminated land in England, with local authorities as the primary regulators (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, 2005). The Nottinghamshire Declaration, mentioned below, is another example of this trend, as is the Local Air Pollution Prevention and Control ( LAPPC) system under the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999, with local authorities (rather than the Environment Agency) the regulators (Defra, 2005d).

9.44 The importance of environmental protection in more tangible policy areas is coming to the fore. The social progress achieved through combating fuel poverty, the possible economic growth from more efficient resource use, and the benefits to housing through improved energy efficiency are, for instance, becoming more salient issues (Defra, 2005e).

Policy responses

9.45 There is considerable rhetoric from the government, emphasising development and the environment as part of the Doha Development Agenda, with the inclusion of sustainable development in EU bilateral trade agreements, with a consultative and integrated approach to policy-making.

9.46 Recently, the Registration of Fish Buyers and Sellers and Designation of Fish Auction Sites Regulations 2005 have seen Defra introducing a scheme of registration in England for the buyers and sellers of first-sale fish, in conjunction with the designation of auction sites where fish is sold by competitive bidding (Defra, 2005f). These regulations implement the requirements of Article 22 of Council Regulation ( EC) No 2371/2002 (the CFP Regulation) and Article 9 of Council Regulation ( EEC) 2847/93 (the Control Regulation). Registered buyers and sellers must submit sales notes for fish sold or purchased and maintain records of all such sales.

9.47 The Environmental Action Fund ( EAF) is a scheme set up to enable voluntary and community sector groups to further the Government's sustainable development objectives within England. Grants range from £25,000 to £250,000 per year (Defra, 2005b).

9.48 The UK Government also announced the Darwin Initiative at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, with the aim of aiding those countries rich in biodiversity but poor in financial resources to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD) through the funding of collaborative projects (The Darwin Initiative, 2005). A new phase was announced at WSSD in 2002. Phase II aims to:

• improve the collaboration with host countries throughout the whole project;
• strengthen the links with the Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD);
• enhance the legacy of Darwin projects.

The initiative introduced three new types of funding: Darwin Scholarships, pre-project funding and post-project funding.

9.49 The British-Irish Council Environment Sectoral Group BIC(E) was established under the Good Friday Agreement. The Group considers and reports back to the Council on matters concerning the environment.

9.50 The UK Environment for Europe Fund was launched in 2003, its broad aims being to promote environmental protection and sustainable development in Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia and to support activities of environmental organisations in these countries (Defra, 2003). At a municipal level, the Nottingham Declaration commits local authorities to reducing CO2 emissions by 20% by 2010, based on emission levels in 1990. The Declaration allows councils to state openly their commitment to working with central government to deliver the UK climate change programme. Signatories must prepare a strategy to address the causes and effects of climate change, encouraging the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in their local communities and provide opportunities for renewable energy generation ( LGA, 2005). As of June 2005, there were 86 signatories, each representing a local authority in England and Wales out of a potential 410.

Possible lessons

9.51 The World Wide Fund For Nature produced a 'ranking' report in 2004 ( WWF 2004), with detailed score cards for individual companies, with the intention of influencing the future behaviour of larger electricity companies, both in terms of fuel mix and investment choices via their (potential) customers and their (potential) investors.

9.52 The London Borough of Camden (2005) has recently produced a draft strategy on climate change, in response to its obligation under the Nottingham Declaration. Camden Council is an interesting case in that considerable progress has been made on reducing emissions from road traffic, but little progress on emissions from commercial activities and domestic energy use, in contrast to the rest of the UK. Given limited powers over emissions from private buildings, the council has produced a Green Builder's Register, setting itself a target of 25% for recycling household goods and implementing and education program, with a focus on local businesses in particular).

Scottish

Priorities

9.53 Key Executive priorities include addressing climate change (Scottish Executive, 2000a,) and implementation of Strategic Environmental Assessment and the Water Framework Directive. Another priority has been the improved enforcement of environmental law which had been identified as a problem. A commitment to do this was included in the Partnership Agreement (Scottish Executive, 2003a: 36-37). Strengthening nature conservation legislation and enforcement of wildlife crime have also been prioritised (Scottish Executive, 2003: 36-37), along with implementation of the requirements of the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992).

9.54 An important speech by the First Minister's in 2002 directly articulated the Executive's recognition of the need to address environmental justice issues, including incivilities afflicting disadvantaged communities such as fly-tipping and littering. More generally, research has demonstrated that environmental justice could be mainstreamed as a key factor underpinning SEPA's environmental protection activities (Poustie, 2004).

9.55 The Partnership Agreement also commits the government to implement 1998 Aarhus Convention obligations, to ensure better access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters (Scottish Executive, 2003a: 36-37). These obligations are perceived as being mechanisms for improving the quality of environmental decision making as well as enhancing accountability and legitimacy (for instance, Steele 2001: 415-442).

9.56 In the context of ensuring better public participation, the potential use in Scotland of Good Neighbour Agreements, which were largely developed in the US as a mechanism to facilitate better engagement between communities and polluting businesses, has been recognised (for example, in the First Minister's 2002 speech noted above and by Friends of the Earth Scotland in 2004). Poustie (2004) has pointed out that, while SEPA can promote such agreements, it is legally precluded from requiring regulated businesses to enter into them, or, indeed, from entering into them itself.

Policy responses

9.57 The Scottish Climate Change Programme (Scottish Executive, 2000a), which is currently under review, sets out an agenda for addressing climate change. However, it is worth noting that there are limits to what is achievable under devolution, with the reservation of taxation (and hence instruments such as Climate Change Levy) to Westminster. The programme includes transport, renewable energy initiatives and built environment initiatives (discussed in elsewhere in this report). The need to have a common UK greenhouse gas emission trading scheme to implement EU Directive 2003/87 has led to UK regulations (Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme Regulations 2003 ( SI 2003/3311) and the Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme Regulations 2005 ( SI 2005/925), which in Scotland are administered by the SEPA.

9.58 The Strategic Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill is designed to implement the SEA Directive and goes somewhat further than the Directive in scope by requiring the assessment of a wide range of plans and programmes. This will be a key mechanism for promoting sustainable development as it enables the integration of environmental considerations at a very early planning stage and hence genuine consideration of a range of alternatives. It will also serve as a significant mechanism for implementing the early and effective public participation obligations in the Aarhus Convention.

9.59 The Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 and associated regulations have been enacted and an opportunity has been taken to completely overhaul Scottish water pollution and resource management legislation, as well as implementing the EU Water Framework Directive, in order to create an integrated and comprehensive water environment management regime, based on the cornerstone of river basin management planning.

9.60 The Scottish Ministers have furthermore provided SEPA with guidance on the contribution it can make to sustainable development which stresses that SEPA should address environmental justice issues insofar as its functions permit.

9.61 Efforts have been made to improve the enforcement of environmental law and penalties have been for various, but not all (for example, penalties in the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 have, surprisingly, not been increased), environmental offences (see the Anti-Social Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004). In parallel, a specialist network of procurators fiscal has been established to prosecute environmental law cases (Scottish Executive News Release 09/02/2004), and legislation has been enacted which enables the use of fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping and littering so that those offences may be more flexibly addressed (Litter (Fixed Penalty Notices) (Scotland) Order 2004 SSI 2004/427 and the Controlled Waste (Fixed Penalty Notices) (Scotland) Order 2004, SSI 2004/426).

9.62 The enactment of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 strengthens the protection of SSIs and provides for the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity's obligation by which signatories should have a Biodiversity Strategy in place. The 2004 Act imposes a duty on public bodies to further the conservation of biodiversity and have regard to the Executive's Biodiversity Strategy. Scotland's Biodiversity: It's in Your Hands. A strategy for the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity in Scotland was published in May 2004.

9.63 A range of public education initiatives, using television advertisements, have been used to support enforcement campaigns, for example, the 2004 Dumb Dumpers campaign against fly-tipping which was accompanied by a telephone hotline to encourage reporting of such activity.

9.64 The Aarhus Convention (1998) obligations have been implemented through a combination of Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 ( SSI 2004/520), SEA measures and other associated legislation.

Possible lessons

9.65 The East Ayrshire Coalfields Environment Initiative, managed by the Coalfields Initiative, involves the local council, members from industrial organisations, RSPB Scotland and the local primary school and was set up to create a wetland habitat on a former opencast coal mine in East Ayrshire. A priority has been the restoration and management of wet grassland, benefiting breeding wading birds such as lapwing, snipe, curlew, redshank and oystercatcher. It is hoped that public access will eventually be provided.

9.66 The Coach House Trust, in north Glasgow, is one-year project funded by the Executive's Biodiversity Action Grants Scheme to upgrade a derelict site along the canal-bank in Lambhill, involving local schools and the community. The project linked up with other path networks in the area to create a more user-friendly and attractive site for the community and visitors alike.

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