| UK. Scottish Parliamentary Committee to probe management of the marine environment |
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| Monday, 13 November 2006 | |
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Environmental news: The management of the marine environment in Scotland will be subject to its first ever Holyrood parliamentary inquiry. The Environment and Rural Development Committee has begun gathering views on the key challenges for the marine environment and on how policy and legislation need to develop to manage competing uses effectively. Launching the inquiry, committee convener, Sarah Boyack, said: "Our seas and coasts are hugely important, both to people who live in Scotland and to tourists, and in terms of biodiversity. Far less is known about the health of, and the pressures on, the marine environment than is known about our land. "The marine environment is a public resource, used for many different commercial and recreational activities. These activities are regulated on a sector-by-sector basis and administered by a number of different bodies with no overall co-ordination. "Against that backdrop, there is increasing political focus on the marine environment. The UK Government is developing a marine bill. In Scotland the Executive has published a marine strategy and is considering how it might improve management of the marine environment. "These developments offer our committee an opportunity to consider how policy can be developed to ensure that the marine environment is managed sustainably. "As such, we are keen to hear views on how the marine environment should be managed, especially from communities and individuals who live and work in coastal and marine areas." Call for evidence The committee will also be holding a series of evidence hearings in January 2007, which will be open to the public. A detailed programme for oral evidence will be announced shortly. Written evidence should be submitted on a range of issues, including: Uses: What are the varied, and often competing, demands which are placed on the marine environment? Where are the key pressure points and challenges particularly any that have distinctively Scottish perspectives? Planning: What good practice is developing in Scotland from some of the initiatives which exist to co-ordinate the various activities, and manage potential conflicts, in the marine environment (e.g. marine spatial planning pilots, the coastal forum network, etc)? Development of governance: What do these initiatives show about how legislation and organisational structures etc. need to change? What is the best way to create an overarching framework for effective management of the marine environment in Scotland? A dedicated website for the inquiry is available at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/environment/Marineenvinquiryhomepage.htm Written evidence should be submitted no later than Wednesday 20 December 2006. Evidence should be reasonably brief and typewritten (as a guide, normally no more than four sides of A4). It would be most helpful if responses could be submitted by email to: ERDC@scottish.parliament.uk Alternatively, responses can be submitted by letter to Jenny Goldsmith, Assistant Clerk, Environment and Rural Development Committee, Room T1.01, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP. Please note that written evidence submitted to the Committee is normally published in electronic or paper form, both as a public paper at the meeting at which it is considered, and as part of the Committee's report in due course. We would intend to publish submissions with names and addresses and other identifying characteristics removed. The Parliament operates within the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2001. If you have any concerns about your submission being public, please discuss this with the Committee Clerk before submitting it. Late submissions can be accepted only by prior arrangement with the Committee Clerk. All responses will be circulated to the Committee. All responses become the property of the Scottish Parliament and we are unable to return documents. Please take time to read the Parliament's policy on the treatment of written evidence by subject and mandatory committees before you submit your evidence to the Committee. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 13 November 2006 ) |
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