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THE RURAL STEWARDSHIP SCHEME

6 Supplementary Information

Photo: P&A Macdonald - SNH

Section 1 The Environmental Audit

1.1 What does the environmental audit involve?

The Environmental Audit is, in effect, an inventory of all the wildlife habitats and features on your unit and an assessment of their current conservation interest. It will also include details of the habitats and features you wish to enter into the RSS and a brief description of your waste management policy. For the Audit to be carried out properly, it will be necessary for whoever is carrying it out to walk the unit to identify and examine habitats and features and to mark them on a map. Given the wide range of prescriptions available under the Rural Stewardship Scheme, two maps will be required: one, the Descriptive Map, to describe the habitats and features covered by the General Environmental Conditions and the other, the Management Map, showing the sites and features subject to payments under the Scheme

1.2 Who can undertake the Audit?

If you are sufficiently knowledgeable about wildlife conservation, you can undertake the Audit yourself. Alternatively, you can, if you prefer, ask a professional adviser to carry out the Audit for you. It is entirely up to you to decide who to ask. The Department's only concern is that the Audit should be carried out properly and reflects accurately the situation on your unit.

1.3 Can I recover the cost?

Yes. Provided the Audit has been carried out to a satisfactory standard and you apply to join the RSS, SERAD will pay:

• For an Audit prepared by a professional adviser:
  For a small unit (10 hectares or less): 75% of the cost subject to a minimum payment of £150 and a maximum of £225. For other units (greater than 10 hectares in extent): 50% of the cost up to a maximum payment of £300. A receipted invoice to support your claim must accompany your application to the scheme.
• For an Audit carried out by the applicant, SERAD will pay a fixed sum of £100 in recognition of the time involved.
• If you have already had a survey of the nature conservation interest on your unit carried out (e.g. under the FWAG Landwise initiative), SERAD will pay £100 in recognition of the cost involved in translating the survey details into the format required for the RSS Environmental Audit.

The cost used to calculate the amount to be reimbursed will normally exclude VAT unless your business is not registered for VAT.

1.4 Why is the Audit an essential requirement of the Scheme?

The purpose of the Environmental Audit is to encourage a structured and objective independent analysis of the wildlife and other conservation opportunities on the unit. This will provide a sound basis to help ensure that the funds available are used to obtain the maximum possible conservation benefit. In addition, the Audit will be a useful tool for the future management and development of the unit.

An extract showing an example of a Descriptive Map, a Management Map and completed map keys is provided below. This should be used as a guide when completing the map keys and maps that form part of your Audit.

Example Descriptive Map and Key

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