Complete an initial prioritisation exercise identifying accommodation space to be protected for coastal habitat change to promote recovery and adaptation, and identify potential future mechanism(s) to deliver recovery and adaptation, including agricultural subsidies.
Objective 1: Accelerate ecosystem restoration and regeneration
Priority Action 4. Improve Resilience in Coastal and Marine Systems by reducing pressures and increase and safeguard space for coastal habitat change
The Scottish Government published a draft Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan (December 2025), which sets out priorities for accelerating marine and coastal habitat restoration and highlights the need for action in key coastal systems. However, there is currently no publicly available, standalone national prioritisation exercise specifically identifying “accommodation space” for coastal habitat change, nor a defined mechanism linking this directly to delivery tools such as agricultural subsidies or land management schemes.
Work on coastal change and adaptation is instead being taken forward through broader marine planning, coastal management policy, and nature restoration programmes, rather than a dedicated spatial prioritisation framework for accommodation space.
There is currently no standalone national exercise identifying and protecting “accommodation space” for coastal habitat change, and no defined mechanism linking spatial priorities to delivery tools such as agricultural subsidies or land management schemes. Coastal adaptation is instead being addressed through wider marine planning and coastal policy rather than a specific spatial prioritisation framework. A targeted national approach could enable planned habitat migration, reduce conflict with land use, and strengthen long-term coastal ecosystem resilience.
Scottish Government – Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan (December 2025 draft)
Dynamic Coast – Coastal change mapping and adaptation evidence base
Coastal change and adaptation guidance
Identify and address gaps in current evidence on coastal habitats, through research and monitoring as an enabling action for all coastal biodiversity actions (2024-2028) and fund research commencing in 2024 into better quantifying the adaptation benefits of coastal landforms and habitats to maximise biodiversity benefits.
Reduce marine litter and marine plastics by implementing the Marine Litter Strategy for Scotland (published 2022) through a six-year action plan that includes: {supporting the improvement of waste management for end of life fishing gear. Enable improved plastic pellet handling and management across the plastics supply chain to reduce pellet loss, and provide guidance to support pellet clean up in…
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