May 5th, 2015 by ie-admin
THIS is an issue that needs to be confronted, says Kevin Dunion.
What has Europe ever done for us? Depending on the outcome of the general election, we may be assailed with claims that it is interfering and wasteful, with others stoutly defending its role in lowering trade barriers and upholding commonly agreed standards from Limerick to Limassol.
For example, it was through an EC directive, passed back in 1990 (and further strengthened by a new directive in 2003), that we acquired rights to access information on the environment. This was well before domestic freedom of information laws in Scotland, and in the rest of the UK, came into effect some ten years ago.
Now, at a time when there are real concerns that public services are being privatised or contracted-out, and consequently escaping from the obligations of FoI, these European-derived rights may prevent citizens’ rights to information being undermined. A particular feature of the directive is that it applies to private companies, if they are performing a “public administrative function”.
But what does this actually mean? It was only late last year that the European Court of Justice issued a judgment clarifying that it applies to entities “entrusted with the performance of services of public interest”, (including but not exclusively those in the environmental field) and which are “vested with special powers”.
This test recently led to an Upper Tribunal ruling that privatised water companies in England do have special powers, which include making compulsory purchase orders, powers to enter land and imposing hosepipe bans, enforceable through criminal sanctions. As a result, they must comply with environmental information requests.
Scottish Water remains in public ownership and so it has always been subject to the environmental information regulations and also to FoI law in Scotland more generally. But the point is the tests laid down by the European Court can be applied to the operators of other privatised services, including railway and energy companies (and perhaps also to some of the arms-length bodies set up by public authorities).
However, the information commissioners or courts cannot come to a view on the law without a request for information being made in the first place. It required dogged persistence by an angling organisation, Fish Legal, to force its request to water companies all the way to the European Court and back to a judge in England before the law was given effect.
It is difficult to recall a similar example pursued by a recognised voluntary body in Scotland, which is not to say significant requests have not been made by individual citizens and groups. It took a local shop steward to request the PFI contract that exposed the full costs of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. A handful of parents used FoI to challenge the closure of rural schools, leading to a change in legislation. Questions from bereaved relatives helped expose the high levels of C difficile at Vale of Leven hospital.
However, it has always surprised me how few cases have been championed by third-sector bodies. The most recent annual report by the Scottish Information Commissioner shows only 3 per cent of appeals to her came from voluntary organisations, virtually unchanged from my time in the post.
Research by the University of Strathclyde suggests some reasons for this apparent inhibition. It found “almost half of all respondents stated that they would be discouraged from making a request because of a fear that it might harm working relations or funding relations or both.” The correlation was clear – the higher the level of funding an organisation receives from a public authority, the more likely they are to believe that using FOI could harm relations with the public authority. Given that almost all the organisations which responded were funded either wholly or in part by public authorities, such fears can have a chilling effect.
Many voluntary organisations were in the vanguard in pressing for freedom of information laws at a European and national level, and could be expected to be prominent requesters. We need to openly discuss why some are reluctant to be so, and consider who, without fear or favour, is willing to explore the potential of these hard-won rights.
This article was first published by The Scotsman on 5th May 2015
Kevin Dunion is honorary professor at the University of Dundee’s School of Law, was the first Scottish Information Commissioner and is a former director of Friends of the Earth Scotland.
March 11th, 2015 by ie-admin
OWNERSHIP is less important than stewardship, says John Thomson
In obvious respects, a nation’s land defines it, and helps to shape its culture.
So it is hardly surprising that questions relating to land have come to the fore in the continuing ferment of debate about Scotland’s future. Unsurprisingly, given the remarkable concentration of landownership in the country, much of this discussion revolves around the issue of ownership.
Far-reaching as the social and economic implications of differing patterns of ownership may be, the most fundamental question of all is surely whether it is being looked after in ways that maximise its value to the nation and the species we share the land with.
This is why Scottish Environment LINK sees it as vital that the discussions about land ownership proceed with parallel deliberations about future land use. The goal must be to strike the right balance between the public and private interests in land, taking particular care of the needs of the natural world.
The Scottish Government’s current consultation is therefore right to focus on the contribution that land reform can make to sustainable development – if this is defined in the way set out in the Shared UK Principles of Sustainable Development. These require harmonisation of social, economic and environmental objectives within environmental limits, informed by sound science and with active citizen involvement.
Equally crucial, in our view, is the responsible stewardship of land. Landholders of whatever type should be regarded as holding land “in trust” for the wider community – including both future generations and all the other species.
To have a truly sustainable future, Scotland must banish notions of exclusive possession – and of human dominion over nature. Any benefits, legal or fiscal, that society bestows upon those holding land should be conditional upon their safeguarding the public interest in its use and condition. Reciprocal rights and responsibilities are enshrined in the access provisions of the existing Land Reform Act; the time has come to extend the approach more widely.
We therefore welcome, in principle, the Scottish Government’s proposed Land Rights and Responsibilities Policy Statement. But we see it as vital that this vision and these principles are conjoined with the Land Use Strategy required by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act. Together, they should be at the top of the hierarchy, and integrate all the other relevant government strategies and plans for land.
The practical implications of all this might be best teased out in a code of responsible stewardship. Such a code might provide guidelines for the everyday management of land, taking account of the varying conditions across the country.
To be effective, a code would have to be complemented by a country-wide system of indicative land use strategies, of the kind prefigured by the pilot Regional Land Use Frameworks being prepared in Aberdeenshire and the Scottish Borders. Though not prescriptive, these documents might constitute the starting point for any attempt to identify the public interest in the management of any specific area of land.
They could also become the key to the allocation of public funds in programmes such as the Scottish Rural Development Programme and all land subsidies.
Such a regime would, of course, apply as much to communities (whether of place or of interest) as to individuals. While we enthusiastically support the goal of bringing unused physical assets into use for the benefit of local people, we have no doubt that, in their use of land, communities should be expected to meet exactly the same standards as all land managers.
Such a comprehensive and cohesive approach might go far to set Scotland’s treatment of its land on the more sustainable path that it so badly needs.
If land reform does not lead to major changes in attitude and behaviour, a unique, and possibly unrepeatable, opportunity will have been missed.
On the other hand, an ambitious, Scotland-wide effort to re-set the rules of the game could yield huge dividends, and could make Scotland the envy of much of the developed and developing world.
John Thomson is convenor of the Scottish Environment LINK Landscape Task Force
This article was first published by The Scotsman on 10th March 2015
February 13th, 2015 by ie-admin
Its nearly Valentine’s Day & our Species Champion MSPs have been busy showing their love for Scotland’s biodiversity!
This Valentine, Species Champions are showing their love for their species as part of Stop Climate Chaos’ For the Love Campaign (FTLO). FTLO gives people a way of showing what they love and how concerned they are about how climate change will effect it. You can read more about FTLO here. Our Champions are showing their love for their species and explaining how it is threatened by climate change and how we need to act now to save them.
Check out our video of the Champion MSPs professing their love this Valentine’s below. We didn’t lock ’em up in any dungeon; they came willing to record messages of love and warning during their busy schedule at Parliament. Make sure to also head to our YouTube channel to see individual videos of the MSPs waxing lyrical about their species.
February 3rd, 2015 by ie-admin
Yet again, we’re delighted that another amazing species has been championed. This time the stunning Garden Tiger which is predominantly active at night has been championed by Margaret McCulloch MSP for Central Scotland.
Photo copyright Shane Farrell
February 2nd, 2015 by ie-admin
Scottish Environment LINK’s Marine Taskforce will be hosting the following event:
How can marine spatial planning lead to a thriving natural marine environment in Scotland?
This event will take place in the Conference Room at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (Arboretum Place, Edinburgh EH3 5NZ) on Thursday 12th February 2015 from 2pm – 6pm, followed by an informal reception and networking (until approximately 8pm).
The full programme is available to download. The event will feature presentations from keynote speakers in the planning sector:
• Anne-Michelle Slater (University of Aberdeen), a specialist in terrestrial and marine spatial planning law.
• Rachel Shucksmith (NAFC Marine Centre, Shetland), manager of the Shetland Marine Spatial Plan project.
The presentations will be followed by group workshop sessions focusing on key topics under the theme: what tools are needed to take marine spatial planning from paper to practice? With marine spatial planning coming to the fore at national level, this event will facilitate timely thinking on how it can, and must, deliver sustainable development and ecosystem enhancement for Scotland’s seas. We are keen to gain a wide range of perspectives at this event and would welcome attendance from anyone with an interest in landscapes, terrestrial planning, ecological restoration, environmental law, participative democracy (or decision-making) and related areas.
For any further information, please contact Esther Brooker (esther @ scotlink.org).
We look forward to what promises to be a positive and productive event.
January 20th, 2015 by ie-admin
We are delighted to announce that our latest Species Champion is Liz Smith MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife who is now championing the Slender Scotch Burnet Moth. This rare moth is confined to the steep, south-facing slopes under basalt cliffs on Mull and is on the Scottish Biodiversity List; not a moment too soon to be championed then! Find out more by reading its’ fact sheet.
Photo credit Anand Prasad
January 13th, 2015 by ie-admin
FOR THE first time, we now have the means to monitor and look after the ecological health of our seas, says Calum Duncan
FOR centuries, our seas have been heavily exploited for their fish, and as the highways of our trade. More recently a host of different, new industries, such as fossil fuel extraction, fish farming, recreation and renewable energy generation, have emerged and our seas are now far busier. Will the currently emerging planning system for our seas ensure that we manage and balance all of these interests for the wider public benefit?
Deep in the cultural fibre of coastal communities around Scotland, the decline of our fisheries and the broader health of our seas is felt as a painful environmental, economic and social loss. Village quaysides once bustled with the traffic of small boats, but our inshore fleet now struggles to make ends meet. Our bigger ports have become sites to facilitate industrial-scale fishing and provide the logistics for an energy boom, now switching all-too-slowly from fossil fuels to cleaner renewables. Our connections with the sea are changing.
Our seas and the life within them are a shared, national resource, yet until recently Scotland has not had the means to manage it effectively. Separate regimes, from Holyrood, Westminster and Brussels have regulated and licensed the different industries. They operated in regulatory silos, and the ecological health of our seas paid the price, entering a state of serious decline.
Under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (and its UK counterpart) we now have the golden opportunity to create an effective, integrated planning system to monitor and plan for the combined impacts of all this activity – and to deliver the statutory duty to “protect and, where appropriate, enhance” the marine environment.
Just as the current debate on land reform is about the best expression of the public and environmental interest, so is the implementation of the Marine Act. For the first time, we will be able to plan how we comprehensively look after our shared marine resources for the long-term.
The framework of the new, statutory National Marine Plan (NMP) can provide a mechanism for us to develop responsible industries, create jobs and taxable revenue streams for the benefit of all Scotland, and bring new hope to our coastal communities.
Amid the political ferment in post-referendum Scotland, Holyrood is currently in the process of ratifying the country’s first ever NMP. As we take this step we face a major choice. We can have a plan that continues to pretend that the seas have room for unlimited growth, or we can have one that seeks to repair their health and restore their potential. It is not clear, currently, in what direction we are headed. A quick look at the evidence suggests serious confusion.
There are grave concerns being voiced about growth targets for the aquaculture industry. Targets to increase production of farmed salmon and other products by 2020 might help to underpin trade relations with China, but they have never been subjected to the appropriate rigours of a planning system.
The draft NMP also contains disturbing contradictions as it seeks to maximise recovery of oil and gas reserves whilst also meeting ambitious climate change targets. Amazingly, the draft plan fails to even acknowledge the direct climate change impacts of burning oil and gas. This is a considerable weakness, given climate change is arguably the greatest challenge facing us all.
There is also a danger that the emergent Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) will lead towards few changes in fisheries management, despite strong emerging evidence that limits to dredging and trawling in inshore waters could lead to clear economic and environmental gains.
Instead of this confusion, we need to view environmental management not as a
constraint, but as a means to achieve and safeguard the common good. Scottish Environment LINK’s members believe, firmly and fundamentally, that the NMP must set out a stronger vision of how to enhance our diminished marine environment. An invigorated Scotland can lead the world here and think for the longer term.
The lessons from land use can provide some encouragement. Our more experienced terrestrial planners, in forestry for example, have become well accustomed to thinking over long planning timeframes. The Scottish Forestry Strategy in 2009 established a programme to increase woodland cover in Scotland from 17 per cent to around 25 per cent in the second half of this century, to deliver broad economic, environmental and social objectives. Gradually, forestry developments are being integrated with other land uses, under the Land Use Strategy established by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act (2009).
We should apply some real vision and approach marine planning and “seabed use” in the same way as we do for terrestrial planning and land use strategy – but, as the emerging marine plans are scrutinised in Parliament, this has become urgent.
As the plans are finalised, LINK members will continue to press for a clear, long-term vision and the broader public interest.
Calum Duncan is convenor of Scottish Environment LINK’s marine taskforce
This article was first published by The Scotsman on January 13th 2015
December 10th, 2014 by ie-admin
This adorable species is the latest to be championed under the LINK Species Champion initiative. Jamie Hepburn MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth becomes the latest Species Champion totaling up to 72 MSPs Species Champions and 87 unique species! To find out more about this species click here!
Creative Commons (c) SolidElectronics
November 21st, 2014 by ie-admin
LINK’s Species Champion initiative was Highly Commended at the RSPB Scotland Nature of Scotland Awards under the category of ‘Innovation Award’ on November 20th 2014. We’re also delighted to hear that Claudia Beamish MSP who is the Species Champion for the Sea Trout and Forester Moth won Politician of the Year Award. The awards were an excellent recognition and celebration of all the hard work done by those who care about the environment, especially all the amazing volunteers! Here our Advocacy Officer, Rea Cris along with another Species Champion Rob Gibson MSP for the Rusty Bog Moss, show off our award.
November 18th, 2014 by ie-admin
Now is the time to enhance the legacy of John Muir, says John Mayhew
Scotland’s landscapes rank amongst the best in the world in their richness, quality and diversity. We have wild mountains, pristine rivers and lochs, ancient forests and stunning coastline and islands – all rich in wildlife and history.
Our landscapes enhance our quality of life and our well-being. They give us inspiration and enjoyment. They provide great opportunities for outdoor recreation, including walking, cycling, canoeing and mountaineering. They are one of the main reasons why people visit Scotland, and they provide important economic benefits through tourism, our largest industry.
So, with landscapes of such quality you might expect Scotland to have several national parks – the principal tool used across the world to safeguard and manage fine landscapes. Although there are more than 3,500 national parks across the world (including 60 in Canada, 29 in Norway and 14 in New Zealand) Scotland has only two. Both parks are quite recently set up, despite the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (SCNP) and the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS) campaigning for them for more than 60 years. These organisations feel that more of Scotland’s landscapes deserve national park status, and argue that the Scottish Government should do more to implement its 2011 Manifesto commitment to “work with communities to explore the creation of new National Parks”.
A recent report by SCNP and APRS, Unfinished Business, summarises the benefits which national park status brings, and recommends improvements to the operation of our current and future national parks. It sets out criteria against which any future park should be assessed, and proposes seven further areas which are considered to meet these criteria – including at least one coastal and marine national parks. Unfinished Business can be found on the APRS or SCNP websites – and the campaign for Scottish Government action keeps going.
Support for the proposals in the report have been formally backed by many of Scotland’s leading environmental membership charities – including the National Trust for Scotland, RSPB Scotland, Ramblers Scotland, the Scottish Wild Land Group and Woodland Trust Scotland. SCNP and APRS work in partnership on the issue with all of these bodies through Scottish Environment LINK’s National Parks Task Force. And, crucially, local people from several of the proposed national park areas – including from the Cheviots, Galloway and Mull – have contacted us to support the campaign.
“National Park” is the leading internationally recognised designation for places of the highest national importance for our natural heritage, including landscape, wildlife and recreation. It is the highest accolade which can be given to an area within its national context.
Many national parks are truly wild. Others, as in Scotland, are wholly or partly inhabited, working areas. They stand, proudly, alongside world-renowned places including Jotunheimen in Norway, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, the Karakoram in Pakistan and Yosemite in the US.
Scotland’s national parks bring environmental, social and economic benefits to locals, visitors and to Scotland as a whole. They provide a focus on a particular place, mechanisms to stimulate conservation management, and additional resources to reflect their importance to the nation. Within their statutory framework, they benefit from an agreed plan designed to safeguard their special qualities for future generations whilst managing competing pressures such as tourism, transport, energy, agriculture, forestry and fishing in integrated and positive ways. They inspire pride and passion amongst local people and visitors.
The Scottish Government provides funding to sustain the communities in and around national parks, encouraging jobs which support and look after these special places. The parks bring visitors to remote areas, benefit tourism, farming and fishing, and generate new commercial and marketing opportunities. National parks supplement and add value to existing designations rather than duplicate or replace them. The designation is fixed, so, while other arrangements may come and go, national parks are rarely abolished.
Given this range of benefits, the two existing national parks represent remarkable value for money at a combined cost of about £14 million per annum. Several of the proposed national parks would cost less than this, as they would cover smaller areas and require less complex management structures and fewer staff.
Next month marks 100 years since the death of John Muir, the Scottish naturalist, explorer and writer who inspired the creation of the world’s first national parks in 19th-century US. He is known as the “Father of National Parks”.
It would be a particularly fitting tribute to John Muir if the Scottish Government were to announce the start of the process to create Scotland’s next national park.
[John Mayhew represents the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland – one of LINK’s members- on the National Parks Task Force]
This article was first published by The Scotsman on 17th November 2014
