« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
INTRODUCTION
Background and objectives
1.1 The EC Water Framework Directive 2000 ( WFD), implemented through the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003, establishes for the first time a source-to-sea planning framework for river basin management. This legislation created a strategic framework to protect the water environment in Scotland, aiming to meet the objectives of the WFD to prevent deterioration of water status and to try to restore all waters to 'good' ecological status by 2015 where possible. The Act was designed to help reduce levels of pollution and to protect habitats in support of Scotland's biodiversity.
1.2 A central component of the WFD process is the assessment of water quality. Previously, water quality has been assessed using chemical parameters, whereas the WFD has broader environmental objectives, and considers the overall health of the ecosystem. In order to develop a robust framework for the assessment of water quality, it is important to consider first the science-base, independently of any potential cost implications. However, it is equally important that the social and economic impacts of the new standards and conditions are assessed rigorously.
1.3 The WFD is one of the first European regulations to explicitly demand a high degree of public and stakeholder involvement in its implementation and the Scottish Executive are required to make informed decisions about the costs of the implementation of the directive. In addition to science-based evidence, such decisions will be informed by the values and priorities expressed by the Scottish public.
1.4 It is within this context that the Environment and Rural Affairs Department of the Scottish Executive commissioned a module of questions in the April/May 2006 wave of IpsosMORI's Scottish Social Policy Monitor.
1.5 The main objectives of the research were to assess views on:
- the personal, social and economic importance of the water environment
- the use of the water environment for leisure and recreation
- perceptions of the quality of the water environment and priorities for improvements
- understanding of the threats to the quality of the water environment
- the future of the water environment.
Methodology
1.6 The Scottish Social Policy Monitor is a multi-client, face-to-face survey carried out among a random sample of adults across Scotland. Interviews are conducted using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing ( CAPI). The April/May 2006 wave involved interviews with 1,011 adults. It should be noted that the interviewing period was in the spring before the relatively dry summer, and prior to much of the media attention regarding various aspects of the water environment in England and in continental Europe.
1.7 The data were weighted to reflect the age and sex profile of the Scottish population and the geographical distribution across local authorities.
1.8 Where percentages do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding, the exclusion of 'don't know' categories or multiple answers. Throughout the report, an asterisk (*) denotes any value of less than half of one per cent. Analysis was undertaken by a number of factors, for example, age, sex and location. Only statistically significant differences have been commented on in the main text 1.
« Previous | Contents | Next »