National Stakeholder Forum
16th November 2004
Economic Characteristics of Scotland's
Water
Introduction
Scotland's water is a valuable resource. We all make
use of it everyday in our homes; many of us enjoy spending
time alongside Scotland's lochs, rivers and coasts.
Scotland's economy also depends on good quality water as a
material input, to irrigate crops, to cool industrial
processes and to dilute and carry wastes away. Water is
also essential to the generation of clean renewable
hydropower in Scotland, and the enjoyment of good quality,
clean, water is one of the reasons why so many tourists are
attracted to spend their leisure time in Scotland.
Future
Over the coming years, important decisions are going to
be made about how we, in Scotland, protect and improve the
water resources we have. We plan to publish a new report
"The Economic Characteristics of Scotland's Water" in the
near future. It will set out some important information
about the ways in which water contributes to the economy
that will help to inform decision makers and stakeholders
in the judgements that they will have to make.
Stakeholders
During the last year a group of stakeholders with an
interest in the economic aspects of water use have worked
hard to collect information that is accurate, reliable,
informative, and useful; this has proved a difficult task.
There is still much to be done in order to provide a
comprehensive picture of the economic aspects of water use
in Scotland and further work is planned in the years
ahead.
Findings
The Chair of the economics stakeholder group will
present the main findings and inform participants about the
next steps. Early draft copies of the new report will be
available at the meeting.
Evan Williams
SEPA
November 2004