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5 Strategic environmental assessment objectives and context

5.1 Introduction

This section details the process undertaken to determine the proposed objectives against which the SRDP should be assessed during the undertaking of the SEA. The first step in the process was to identify those policies and plans considered to be of relevance to the SRDP and to determine their potential impact(s) on the SRDP and/or the SRDP's impact on these policies and plans. In addition, the environmental legislation which requires to be considered when developing SEA objectives was also determined and all this information is documented in Appendix 2. Using this information and the baseline environmental data collated in section 4, key environmental issues were determined (section 5.2 refers) and the environmental objectives of the SRDP were identified (section 5.3 refers).

5.2 Key environmental issues

A number of key environmental issues facing Scotland with regard to the SRDP have been identified building in the baseline environmental data collated and displayed in section 4. The implications of these key environmental issues to the development of the SRPD are discussed below and this information was used to identify the key SEA objectives and targets which are discussed in section 5.3 below.

5.2.1 Biodiversity issues

Biodiversity in Scotland is governed by the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy which provides the approach to be taken in Scotland to ensure that EU requirements relating to biodiversity are met. This strategy identified a number of species and habitats of principle importance in Scotland. The Scottish Biodiversity strategy is supplemented by a number of a number of Local Biodiversity Action Plans (produced from the UKLBAP) which identify a number of Habitat Action Plans and Species Action Plans which aim to prevent further decline of these habitats and species and to ensure the recovery in the loss of biodiversity seen to date (a decline in the status of 18% of species and 29% of habitats but an increase in the status of 2% of the priority BAP species and 16% of the priority BAP habitats by 2002 ⁵²). As an example of the impact of habitat creation on biodiversity, the conversion of areas of non-native coniferous woodland to native species mixed woodland, the planting of hedgerows and the creation of extensive riparian zone would increase biodiversity within the rural environment.

The majority of designated sites (Special Areas of Conservation ( SAC), Special Protected Areas ( SPA), Sites of Special Scientific Interest ( SSSI), Ramsar sites etc) are by their very nature located in Rural Scotland and the protection and enhancement of these sites is another issue to be considered during the development and implementation of the SRDP. SNH has recently completed site conditioning monitoring of SACs, SPAs, SSSIs and Ramsar sites. During the period April 1998 - March 2005 81% of these sites in Scotland were monitored and of these some 71% were found to be in a favourable condition or in an unfavourable condition, but recovering.

Given the strong relationship between biodiversity and the farming and forestry activities occurring in Rural Scotland, any changes in the nature, level and location of farming and forestry could have a significant impact (both positive and negative) on biodiversity. In theory, the majority of the measures being proposed as part of the SRDP (see section 2 for more details) could help in the delivery of the biodiversity objectives mentioned above and recorded in section 5.5 below, but during the SEA process, the scale of these impacts for each of the alternatives will require to be quantified.

5.2.2 Air quality issues

The majority of the information relating to air quality relates to air quality in urbanised areas where transport usage and industrial processes, two of the main causes of poor air quality, are more concentrated. However, there is considerable transport usage in Rural Scotland and this issue can be considered under the provisions of the SRDP. In particular concern about poor public transport in rural areas and the reliance of cars is an issue and plans to improve public transport in rural areas would help to reduce private vehicle usage as well as improving transportation links to urban areas.

In addition there are concerns about the release of ammonia from agricultural land and as over 70% of Scotland's land is given over to agriculture, the impacts on activities proposed within the SRDP have considerable potential to impact on ammonia levels which as discussed in section 4.3 has the potential to impact on eider issues such as human health and climate change.

5.2.3 Climate change issues

The potential for farming and forestry practices to influence climate change, and the potential for climate change to affect farming and forestry practices are significant. Land change, agriculture and forestry accounted for over 20% of emissions of carbon dioxide (one of the main greenhouse gases) in the period 1990 - 2002 ⁵³ with the main sources being fertiliser use and ammonia from intensive livestock rearing. However, there are activities undertaken in Rural Scotland which can absorb greenhouse gases and these include forestry which is mentioned above and peatland. Whether the figures quoted by the Scottish Executive (2005) took carbon sequestration into account has not been determined.

Greenhouse gases (those gases which influence climate change) can seriously impact upon the environment and rural activities. These emissions may result in reductions in agricultural and forestry production as a result of alterations of soil quality, particularly increased acidification and alterations in vegetation as a result of changed in ozone concentrations. This in turn can impact upon habitats and species, resulting in, amongst other things, a reduction in, and damage to fish stocks.

The introduction of the SRDP offers opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which will have benefits not only on rural activities such as agriculture and forestry but also on the local rural environment as well as the national and international environments. Changes in the types of crops which are grown in Scotland, which could be promoted in the SRDP ( i.e. grants to encourage the farming of energy or biomass crops) and changes in management practice on farming land could in turn influence the emissions of, and/or uptake of greenhouse gases. In addition changes to the management of woodland and alterations in species composition in these woodlands could also affect greenhouse emissions although this is likely to be to a lesser extent as a result of carbon sequestration.

The draft revised Forestry Strategy indicates that forests and woodlands have a significant role in terms of adaptation to climate change. This includes ecological adaptation ( e.g. the development of Forest Habitat Networks), planning to tackle pest, diseases and abiotic threats, adjustments to silvicultural and operational practice, and environmental protection.

5.2.4 Renewable energy

Information from the Scottish Executive ⁵⁴ indicates that over 50% of energy generated in Scotland comes from fossil fuels and that at present Scotland is failing to meet its targets for the production of electricity from renewable resources with less than half the electricity being produced than the 2010 aim. Renewable sources which could be produced within Rural Scotland and which therefore could be influenced by the SRDP include wind power, hydropower, biomass and biofuels. All power generation plants can have positive impacts of the emissions of greenhouse gases within Scotland but the need for the supporting infrastructure such as access roads and the connections to the power grid can have significant negative impacts on landscapes, the water environment, soils and biodiversity.

While the benefits of hydropower include the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, hydropower generation has significant potential impacts. Hydropower generation impact on the water environment as a result of the impoundment of water behind dams and weirs and the associated impacts on habitats and species as well as the impacts of reduced or even no flow as a result of abstraction. In addition there are other physical alterations which can result due to the presence of hydropower schemes including the canalisation of watercourses and major fluctuations in water depths ⁵⁵ which can also result in reduced biodiversity. In addition large scale dams can have a considerable impact on the landscape of rural Scotland.

The planting of crops for biomass and biofuels could impact on the landscape and biodiversity of rural Scotland depending on the types of crop which are planted and the land uses they replace. The replacement of native forests with biofuel forests would alter habitats and impact upon biodiversity and the replacement of these forests with biocrops such as oil seed rape would not only impact on biodiversity but would also result in landscape impacts. These changes would have lesser impacts on the water environment although increased nutrient run off could result as could increase abstraction of water from adjacent water bodies. However, as with hydropower generation, increase power generation from biomass would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The construction of wind farms in rural Scotland has significant impacts on the landscape although views are divided about whether these impacts are negative or positive. However, as they alter the traditional landscape of rural Scotland the impacts on landscape in this assessment are considered to be negative. Wind farms can result in alterations to the water environment as a result of increased runoff from access roads to the generally remote sites and the morphological impacts of river crossings. The loss of valuable habitat such are moorland and woodland if wind farms are not sited carefully can have significant impacts on habitat and species diversity although the generation of power from wind farms can result in reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

5.2.5 Water Environment issues

As discussed in section 4.5, the main impacts of activities in rural Scotland are diffuse pollution, abstraction and flow regulation with lesser impacts being attributable to point source pollution. In Scotland agriculture, forestry and urban drainage are the three key sources of diffuse pollution and given that 80% of land in Scotland is given over to agriculture and that 17% of the land is used for forestry ⁵⁶, these two areas have a significant potential to impact on the water environment.

Agriculture and, to a lesser extent, forestry, contribute significantly to nutrient pollution, with agriculture having been identified as being the main contributor of nutrients to freshwater and groundwater. Increased nutrients can affect the biological diversity of freshwaters and this as well as chemical water quality will be examined when assessing water quality under the provisions of the WFD. Steps are being taken in both the agriculture and forestry sectors to reduce nutrient run off in line with good practice such as the PEPFAA Code and the latest Forests and Water Guidelines, and the SRDP provides an opportunity to co-ordinate the approach to nutrient budgeting and usage of fertilisers. Large areas of Scotland have been designated as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in order to protect groundwater from nitrate pollution. This designation has considerable impacts on the nature and scale of agricultural activities which can be undertaken in these designated areas.

In addition, agricultural activities contribute to the failure of waters identified under the provisions of the EC Bathing Waters and Shellfish Directive. Bacteriological limits, based in human health standards, are set on waters designated under the provisions of these Directives and run off from agricultural land, contaminated with faecal matter from agricultural stock can have serious implications on the quality of these waters contributing to their failure to comply with the standards set by Europe. Priority actions which address farm waste storage could have significant implications on the quality of bathing waters and shell fish waters in Scotland.

With regard to abstraction and flow regulation, the agricultural, forestry and hydropower generation sector hydropower (see sections 4.5 and 5.2.3) have been identified as having significant impacts and these activities have also been identified as being significant contributors to impacts as a result of morphological alterations. Some positive benefits on water resources through the introduction of the agri-environment schemes such as buffer strips, fencing off water courses to reduce bank erosion and the construction of ponds for water treatment have been usefully implemented to mitigate against the impacts of agriculture and forestry on the water environment. The introduction of the CAR Regulations have provided a means by which these impacts can be regulated. However, the strategic environmental assessment should take these impacts into consideration.

5.2.6 Flooding issues

Incidents of flooding are predicted to increase as a result of climate change, although other factors, such as increasing construction on flood plains, also play an important role. While there is an increasing presumption against construction within the flood plain, there are still large numbers of properties at risk from flooding. There is a view that changes in land use, such as wide scale deforestation can result in increased run off from rural catchments resulting in increased peak flows reaching urban areas and resulting in flooding in these areas. However, to date, there is no research to substantiate this. A research project, Review of Impacts of Rural Land Use and Management on Flood Generation, part of the Defra/Environment Agency R & D programme, concluded that significant changes in land use and management practices in the UK during the last fifty years have resulted in the intensification of agricultural land use. It found that changes in land use and management practices affect runoff generation at the local scale, i.e. the field/farm scale, but the effects are complex. The research found little firm evidence of impacts downstream at larger scales i.e. at the catchment level, but there are very few studies in which such evidence has been sought.

There is an increasing trend to consider the implications of land use changes in the upper catchment, and a move towards more sustainable flood management, for example considering flood mitigation measures in the upper reaches of catchments using agricultural land and woodland for the storage of flood waters. The development of the SRDP offers the opportunity to land managers to consider the contribution they could make to alleviating run-off and flooding taking account of the impacts of the loss of agricultural land and woodland on landowners the and productivity and viability of the land.

One of the objectives of the Water Framework Directive is to " contribute to mitigating the effects of floods and droughts". Under the provisions of this legislation, the Scottish Executive designated 'responsible authorities' under the WEWS Act, including all local authorities in Scotland, who are required to " have regard to the Water Framework Directive in the course of carrying out normal duties" This includes the need to " where it is consistent with the purpose of a function (a) promote sustainable flood management: and (b) act in the way best calculated to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development."

5.2.7 Soil quality issues

Soil is a non-renewable resource and essential for supporting agriculture, forestry and ecosystems. As discussed in section 4.6, there is an inter-relation between soil quality, the water environment and climate change and operations in agriculture and forestry are major contributors to this cycle. Deteriorations in soil quality as a result of erosion, inappropriate use of fertilisers and acidification (contributed to by the release of ammonia and greenhouse gases from agricultural and/or forestry activities into the atmosphere) can result from agriculture and forestry and these issues could be strongly influenced by the direction taken by the SRDP. Options which result in changes to forestry and agricultural operations to improve the water environment and soil quality and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases will themselves, in the long term, if not in the short term, improve agricultural and forestry productivity.

5.2.8 Landscape issues

There are currently vast topographical and regional differences in Scotland's landscape such as coastal areas, mountainous areas and lowland areas. Man's activities have had and will continue to have impacts on the historic landscape of Scotland and there is a need for these to be considered in proposals for changes to land use management in Rural Scotland in the future. The proposed new forestry strategy focuses on the sustainable management of existing woodland and the increased afforestation of urban areas but will also include afforestation on better land for timber production and carbon sequestration, including the use of Short Rotation Coppice. This might impact on agricultural land, although, at least until 2013, this is unlikely to include prime agricultural land (Grades 1 - 3.1). The wide scale growing of energy crops could also have a significant impact on the landscape and the impact of renewable energy schemes, in particular wind farms on the landscape of rural Scotland requires careful consideration as will the requirement to link these renewable schemes to the National Grid. Scotland's landscape plays an important part in tourism, an area on which the SRDP proposed to focus. Increased access can result in impacts on the water environment and soil erosion and can have landscape implications of footpaths are allowed to proliferate in areas, creating a visible network effect on the landscape.

5.2.9 Historic environment issues

There are a wide range of differing sites designated for their cultural heritage, or historic environment interest and these could be significantly impacted upon by changes in rural Scotland. Changes in agriculture and forestry as well as other activities including recreation can have a significant impact on the historic environment in Scotland affecting not only the integrity of the site and or the structure but also affecting its setting. For example the planting of woodland or the construction of affordable housing in the vicinity of a SAM would not necessarily affect the integrity of the structure, but could have the potential to dramatically alter its setting although these impacts would vary depending on the nature of the plantation of the housing development. Therefore the impact of the policies and actions in the SRDP must be assessed against both the direct impacts on the structural integrity of the site and also on the impacts on the setting of the designated site or structure.

5.2.10 Access and recreation

The introduction of the SRDP affords opportunities to improve access to Rural Scotland by increasing the number of recreational facilities on offer and improving those currently in existence such as the provision of additional sustainable footpaths in farming and coastal areas and improved visitor management. There is an additional need to help remove the 'barriers' to access ( e.g. through clear waymarking or appropriate information and interpretation) that may be inhibiting some sectors of society from benefiting from physical and mental health aspects of recreation in the rural environment. However increased tourism may result in erosion of footpaths and increased litter and/or pollution as a result of additional car journeys unless an enhanced public transport system is provided. However increased access, and the focus on increased access rights is for access close to home so reduced vehicular pollution should not be a key issue.

The SRDP measures will aim to ensure a good quality of paths and other facilities to enhance confidence in use, and to help mitigate any problems which could otherwise arise from greater number of people taking access. Public access in one of the most direct ways in which improvements to rural Scotland can be appreciated by the public and can promote benefits in understanding and health among the public.

5.3 SEA objectives and criteria

Table 5.1 below identifies SEA objectives against which the differing SRDP options were assessed and provides criteria which were used in the SEA process. These objectives were developed following consideration of national objectives at the scoping stage and the criteria selected were those considered to be of relevance to the SRDP. This list of objectives is largely similar to those which were proposed and consulted upon during the scoping stage of the SEA although a few additions have been made to the original list as a result of feedback from the statutory consultees and these are marked with an *.

Table 5.1: SEA objectives and criteria

5.4 Likely evolution of the environment without the implementation of the SRDP

Schedule 2 of the SEA Regulations requires that the Environmental Report considers what would happen to Scotland's environment if the new EC Rural Development Regulation was not implemented in Scotland through the SRDP. This is a theoretical issue as the development and implementation of the SRD 2007 - 2013 is required under the provisions of the EC Regulation. .

Although there are existing funding streams which support activities in rural Scotland which offer environmental improvements, the level of improvement which results from this funding is not always monitored and in some cases is not considered to be as successful as may initially be thought. Without the introduction of the new SRDP, it is likely that there would be a slow and steady decline in the environment of rural Scotland.

There are two main ways in which this could occur. This first assumes there is funding for rural Scotland is still available through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development ( EAFRD) but that there is no structure in which to assess applications for funding, and the second assumes that there is no funding available to support activities in rural Scotland.

In the first scenario, there is the potential that the focus of funding would be on directly funding activities which are likely to be economically advantageous and profitable and that there would be little consideration given to the funding of those activities which offer social and/or environmental benefits unless economic benefits were also evident. Although there are many opportunities for the implementation of activities in rural Scotland which could result in increased environmental and/or social benefits as well as economic benefits these are not perhaps immediately obvious and therefore are perhaps less likely to be implemented.

An example of an action which could have economic benefits but little environmental benefit is where grants may be made available for the purchasing of fertilizers in areas where soil quality is poor to enhance crop growth and increase the revenue generated by the farmer. This could result in the planting of increased areas of crops in areas where particular habitats, and their associated species, have been created and are thriving as a result of the poor soil conditions, leading to a loss in biodiversity in Scotland. In addition, impacts on the water environment could result due to the increased use of fertilisers with increased run off being observed.

In the second scenario, there could be economic, social and environmental impacts as a result of the lack of funding for rural activities. In Less Favoured Areas in particular, the provision of funding through LFASS is essential to ensure the viability of businesses and communities and without this funding communities would struggle to survive and negative environmental impacts could result. The failure of rural businesses could result in the breakdown of local communities as people move to find work and also in impacts on biodiversity as a result of failure to manage specific habitats such as moorland properly with the resultant loss of biodiversity. In other rural areas, activities undertaken in agriculture and forestry can have environmental benefits and the loss of funding in these areas too could result in negative environment impacts as these activities could cease.

However, there are potential environmental benefits which could result if funding for certain rural activities were to cease. Less public access could result in less disruption to local wildlife and less pressure on existing resources and natural heritage sites. There could be less over-management of land with a decline in potentially destructive activities such as over grazing, muirburn etc and pest management using pesticides could be reduced.

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