The
Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
Good afternoon. The first item of business is a debate on motion S2M-1327,
in the name of Allan Wilson, on the sustainable management of Scotland's
marine environment, and three amendments to the motion.
The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development (Allan Wilson):
This is the second time in a comparatively short period that we have
discussed the marine environment—recently we discussed Scotland's beaches,
and before that we discussed Scotland's bathing water quality—and I hope
that the complaints from the nationalist benches that such matters are not
important enough to be discussed will not be repeated. I am sure that they
agree that while repetition is the essence of learning—and I hold out hope
for my nationalist colleagues—these are not repetitive debates. They address
complementary parts of a bigger and vital issue, which is how we sustainably
manage our marine environment for generations to come, so that future
generations who follow us in this chamber—or in whatever chamber it happens
to be—get the benefit of our decisions on the future sustenance of our
marine environment.
The previous debates gave us an opportunity to celebrate specific successes
and to take some pride in them, as they are benefits in which everyone in
Scotland can take pride. They also gave us time to confirm that there is no
room for complacency about "The Day After Tomorrow", to coin a phrase—I see
that Alasdair Morgan got it—and that continued, prolonged and co-ordinated
effort on specific and more general fronts is needed to maintain those
successes. The debates have shown that the various strands of activity in
and around our seas are intertwined, but that we need to separate strands
and occasionally consider them in isolation.
Today's debate allows us to take a timely wider view, coming as it does just
ahead of world environment day on 5 June, which this year has a seas and
oceans theme. It gives us the opportunity to think about how better
co-ordination of activity and overall management of our marine and coastal
environment might best be achieved for the longer-term benefit of nature and
our people.
I remind members—Roseanna Cunningham and Rob Gibson in particular—that
during the debate on bathing waters in December I promised to bring the
Executive's proposals on the development of a strategic framework for the
marine environment to the chamber for debate at the first opportunity.
Members will know that I am a man of my word. The Executive's consultation
paper on that strategic framework was launched by the First Minister on 19
April and, as promised, I have brought members a debate within a month.
[Applause.]
Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): It is Santa Claus.
Allan Wilson: It is a bit early for Christmas, but I acknowledge the
sentiment.
The motion emphasises the importance of our marine environment on a number
of fronts—ecological, economic and social. More than 70 per cent of the
earth's surface is covered by oceans and seas, which are a major reserve of
biodiversity and natural resources. In Scotland alone, the territorial
waters over which this Parliament presides cover a greater area than our
territorial landmass. That is something to contemplate.
Our seas and coastal areas provide food, energy and mineral resources,
routes and harbours for shipping and tourism opportunities, all of which are
vital for our economic and social needs. However, our seas and coastal areas
are also unique and vital habitats in their own right—they support a diverse
and abundant range of marine species. It is our responsibility to manage
social and economic activity in a way that protects, conserves and enhances
the wider marine environment.
Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): The minister referred to our ability
to manage. Will he advise me whether he has studied the parts of articles 12
and 13 of the draft European constitution that relate to marine resources
and environmental issues and considered what effect the new constitution
will have on the Scottish Parliament's and his ability to manage?
Allan Wilson: We will come on to debate how we might best manage our marine
resources. One of the propositions that we put to the people in the most
recent Scottish Parliament elections, which is contained in the partnership
agreement, is that we might do that by means of establishing a coastal or
marine national park. That lies within our provenance—Scottish
parliamentarians may or may not decide to establish such a park. I believe
that a park would make a real and lasting difference to marine and coastal
conservation from which future generations would benefit. I do not want to
be dragged down the cul-de-sac that Phil Gallie wishes me to go down, but we
must use the powers that the Parliament has to best effect for the benefit
of future generations.
Phil Gallie: Will the minister take a supplementary question on that point?
Allan Wilson: No, I will just move on.
Members: Very wise.
Allan Wilson: To give a more vivid picture of the value of our marine
environment, I point out that Scotland's marine and coastal waters support
more than 40,000 marine species, including some of international
significance such as basking sharks and leather-back turtles. Our seas
support 14,000 fishing-related jobs—which is an issue that concerns all
members—as well as providing 60 per cent of the total United Kingdom
landings and 90 per cent of the UK's total marine aquaculture production.
Our seas provide £57 million of revenue from and 2,500 jobs in marine
wildlife tourism. There are 5.5 million passenger movements and 90 million
tonnes of freight movements through Scottish ports. I will hear no siren
voices about the importance of the issue to our wider economy. Our seas also
contribute to the £21 billion of UK offshore oil and gas production and have
the potential to support 6,000 to 8,000 jobs in marine renewable energy by
2015.
For members who have not read it, I commend Scottish Natural Heritage's
recently published report, "The Seas Around Scotland", which is part of the
natural heritage trends series. The report is an ideal summary of the
current state of the natural resources around our shores—it also has a very
nattily put-together cover, which comes free of charge.
Important though the statistics are in setting the scale of the value of our
seas, they also make it clear that the potential for human impacts on the
marine environment is huge. We have debated the environmental impacts of the
fishing industry many times; only two weeks ago we debated the impact of
litter; and last year we returned many times to the question of
shipping-related pollution following the grounding of the Jambo near the
mouth of Loch Broom last June. Those are important matters, but we need time
for sober reflection to take stock of what we have been doing, to seek to
minimise the potential for negative impacts on the marine environment and to
consider the future.
With that in mind, we published the consultation paper that I mentioned,
which the First Minister launched in April. The paper makes progress on our
partnership agreement commitment to consult on the best strategy for
protecting and enhancing Scotland's coastline, including the options of
establishing a national marine coastline park and marine national parks. The
main thrust of the consultation paper is to propose a clear strategic vision
for Scotland's marine environment; to explain how the Executive's current
range of marine-related activities interrelate; to explain the overall
policy objectives that those activities serve in supporting that vision; to
consider whether changes are needed to the specific legislation that deals
with the consent regimes for developments in coastal and marine areas; and
to seek views on what might be the appropriate mechanism for the future good
governance and sustainable management of our marine environment.
The paper is not prescriptive. I know that some members in the chamber
bemoan the amount of consultation that is undertaken, but I, for one, do
not, because I want to hear a wide variety of views from both inside and
outside the chamber. I want to hear about the effectiveness of the current
range of marine-related legislation, the potential for marine spatial
planning, the form that a strategic framework might take and how often it
should be reviewed.
There is much more that I wish to go into, but that I do not have time to
cover in my opening statement. I hope that the debate will flesh out some of
the issues. We have always had plenty ideas, and consulting on a marine
strategic framework brings all that innovation together. It will mean that
the results and outcomes of current initiatives are drawn together properly
and acted upon in a coherent way.
I hope that all those involved in current activities, in particular those at
the local and voluntary levels, such as the various coastal partnerships and
those involved in voluntary work in our coastal communities, will be
reassured that developing a strategic framework is a means of acknowledging,
maintaining and building on their efforts, not a threat to what they are
doing and will continue to do. I regard it as being a key feature of any
marine strategy that everybody is able to engage fully in its development
and implementation.
We want to go further than—dare I say it—preaching to the converted. We want
to involve everybody in our coastal communities and everybody who values the
vital natural and national resources that our coastal waters and seas
contain. We want to send the message that the strategy involves them, they
should have an opinion on it and, if they do, they should express it to us.
I am grateful to a number of the environmental non-governmental
organisations, particularly WWF Scotland, RSPB Scotland and the Marine
Conservation Society, which have helped in developing and distributing a
leaflet that we have produced on Scotland's seas and in distributing our
strategy. That kind of partnership working helps to formulate the
involvement that I am talking about and fosters more detailed work, such as
the work that will arise from the consultation when it unfolds later in the
year.
I know that some members will be tempted to press me to give a commitment to
introduce a consolidated marine act—for which the SNP amendment calls—and to
create a Scottish minister for the sea. On the former, I am sure that
members will have lined up arguments both for and against such an act, to
which I will listen carefully. I also want to hear the views of people
outside the Parliament, who have only recently been given the opportunity to
have their say. I have to keep an open mind on that, which is why I cannot
accept the SNP or Conservative amendments.
On the latter point about the post of minister for the sea, I say modestly
that the post already exists and there is no vacancy. The marine environment
is a key element of my portfolio and I am proud to have it. I hope that we
in the Executive exercise our functions in that respect in a way that will
conserve and preserve our marine environment for future generations.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises the considerable ecological, economic and
social importance of Scotland's marine environment; notes that the seas and
oceans are the theme of this year's United Nations World Environment Day on
5 June; acknowledges the range of initiatives already taken by the Scottish
Executive to protect and enhance all of Scotland's coastline and marine
waters, including the Partnership Agreement commitment to consult on the
options of establishing a national coastline park and marine national parks;
endorses the Executive's continued input to the United Kingdom marine
stewardship report process, to the development of a European marine strategy
and to OSPAR; welcomes the strong lead being taken by the Executive to set
out a clearer vision and more coherent strategic framework for Scotland's
marine environment in its recent consultation paper, and supports the
Executive's objectives of improving the co-ordination of activity to
support, and developing a mechanism for, the future good governance and
sustainable management of Scotland's marine environment.
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