At the end of November, the Scottish Government published the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, which runs up to 2045, alongside a delivery plan which covers the next six years. The strategy aims for Scotland to be nature positive by 2030 and to have restored and regenerated biodiversity across the country by 2045. What does this mean for marine environments, and how will this strategy empower communities to take action for Scotland’s seas?
The Biodiversity strategy contains a high level vision for Scottish biodiversity alongside six key objectives for 2030. These are to
- Accelerate restoration and regeneration
- Protect nature on land and sea, across and beyond protected areas
- Embed nature-friendly farming, fishing and forestry
- Recover and protect vulnerable and important species
- Invest in nature, and
- Take action on the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss
The Delivery Plan (which runs from 2024 to 2030) contains more detail as to how these objectives will be met.
Objective 1: Accelerate Restoration and Regeneration
This objective recognises the need for large-scale ecosystem regeneration across land, freshwater environments and seas. It aims to safeguard coastal and marine ecosystems by reducing key pressures such as marine litter and plastics, noise and seabed disturbance. It also highlights the need for Coastal Change Adaptation Plans, produced by some local authorities, to include natural coastal landforms and habitats as measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change on coastlines.
Some other actions which aim to increase restoration efforts include:
- Development of new approaches to marine biodiversity monitoring.
- Introducing additional protection measures for areas where marine species spawn or where juvenile animals congregate.
- Developing a Blue Carbon Action Plan to restore and enhance blue carbon habitats, such as salt marshes and seagrasses.
- Introducing best practice guidelines and a voluntary code of contact for invasive non native species biosecurity.
Objective 2: Protect Nature on Land and Sea, Across and Beyond Protected Areas
This links to the global ’30 by 30’ target to effectively protect and manage 30% of Scotland’s land and seas by 2030 to protect and restore nature. It highlights that Scotland’s MPA network already covers around 37% of our seas, though also pledges to put in place fisheries management measures to support the recovery and resilience of Scotland’s seas. However, while a significant amount of seas are designated as protected areas, these currently function effectively as ‘paper parks’ and are damaged by bottom-towed fishing gear on a regular basis, according to a report by Oceana. Lots of progress is needed to ensure that Scotland’s seas are adequately protected and biodiversity is allowed to recover, both within and outwith protected areas.
Some other actions that fall under this objective are to:
- Develop and implement a National Protected Areas monitoring programme.
- Put in place fisheries management measures where needed for sites in the MPA network.
- Develop and implement an adaptive management framework for the MPA network.
Objective 3: Embed nature-friendly farming, fishing and forestry
This objective aims to implement further fisheries management measures in in vulnerable marine ecosystems and for priority marine features (PMFs) outside MPAs. It also promises to implement the policies in Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy to minimise and, where possible, reverse the negative impacts of fisheries on marine species and ecosystems, and reiterates the aims of the Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture, which sets out the Scottish Government’s aspirations for the finfish, shellfish and seaweed industries.
Some other actions listed here include:
- Deliver fisheries management measures for the Priority Marine Features most at risk from bottom trawling outwith MPAs.
- Introduce fisheries closures to protect Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems in offshore waters between 400-800m depth.
- Develop and implement a suite of measures to reduce levels of discarding fish cash and reduce bycatch of vulnerable species.
Objective 4: Protect and Support the Recovery of Vulnerable and Important Species and Habitats
This highlights the urgent issue of species decline and outlines actions targeted at specific species. Regarding marine species, this objective promises targeted research and management of sharks, skates and rays, and aims to continue work on the Wild Salmon Strategy and Seabird Strategy and to continue to revise the UK Porpoise and Dolphin Strategy. It also mentioned plans to adopt a revised Priority Marine Feature list.
Objective 5: Invest in Nature
This highlights the main sources of funding for nature restoration and biodiversity in Scotland, such as public grant funding programmes, private finance and philanthropic donors. The actions set out in the framework aim to extend this funding, through publishing a Biodiversity Investment Plan for Scotland by the end of 2024, increasing investment in Scotland’s Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) by 2028, and investing in green skills and nature-based education.
Objective 6: Take Action on the Indirect Drivers of Biodiversity Loss
There is a growing realization that tackling the direct drivers of biodiversity loss alone will be insufficient to address this issue adequately. This objective highlights the need to address the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, such as a disconnect from nature and unsustainable consumption patterns.
It lists several actions already underway which aim to promote the value and importance of nature in people’s everyday lives, such as the changes underway in the education system to embed nature in the curriculum, and integrating biodiversity across all government policy development. It also promises to complete a review of opportunities for increasing community participation in safeguarding marine biodiversity, which aligns well with broader CCN aims.
Coastal and Marine Restoration Plan
Earlier this year, the Scottish Government held a consultation on Facilitating marine nature restoration through legislation, which proposed two main changes to marine legislation. The first was to develop a registration process for restoration projects to reduce the administrative burden associated with these projects, and the second was to allow the use of Marine Conservation Orders to protect habitats and species under restoration.
However, following this consultation the Scottish Government decided not to take these proposals forward. This Delivery Plan instead promises to publish a plan for marine and coastal ecosystem restoration, which will identify actions to prioritise habitats and locations suitable for restoration and address funding and supply chain issues, in 2025. CCN will be watching the development of this plan to ensure that it delivers for ambitious, community-led restoration efforts.
Tags: MPA, Policy, Protection, Restoration, Seagrass