Written Question · S4W-04385 · Session 4
What steps it will take to ensure that its network of marine Natura sites and nature conservation marine planning areas under the Marine (S…
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that its network of marine Natura sites and nature conservation marine planning areas under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 will be ecologically coherent in terms of assessment under the Oslo-Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR).
The answer
I indicated in my Ministerial Statement on the creation of a network of Marine Protected Areas, which was laid in Parliament on 1 September 2010, that new nature conservation MPAs, along with existing protected sites such as marine Natura sites will “deliver our contribution to the ecologically coherent network of MPAs under the OSPAR convention on the protection of the marine environment in the North East Atlantic”.
I stated that the intention is to consider the OSPAR principles on ecological coherence in the context of the seas around Scotland. Marine Scotland has produced detailed guidelines on Marine Protected Areas in Scotland’s Seas: Guidelines on the selection of MPAs and development of the MPA network. The final stage of the guidelines is intended to assess network design, and refinements of the proposed network can be considered in light of these assessments to ensure ecological coherence. The guidelines are intended to contribute to coherence at the OSPAR network level and to deliver the MPA network duty in the Marine (Scotland) Act.
To deliver the network I have asked Scottish Natural Heritage and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee for advice on what additional marine Natura sites may be needed to complete Scotland’s contribution to the Natura network in the marine environment by the end of 2012. I understand SNH and JNCC are working together to identify locations of seabird aggregations that may meet the scientific guidelines for classification as a SPA under the EU Birds Directive and to provide final advice on marine SAC designations to complete work under the EU Habitats Directive.
In addition, Marine Scotland is leading a project, with input from key partners including SNH and JNCC, to identify which other locations may need to be designated as Nature Conservation MPAs to complete an ecologically coherent network of MPAs. Thirty-one search locations have been proposed by SNH and JNCC for a range of features and these will be assessed using the MPA guidelines with consideration of alternatives where necessary. SNH and JNCC are also identifying search locations that could be examined to represent other features of interest. Any MPA proposals developed from these search locations will be consulted on prior to a decision on the case for designation.
I stated that the intention is to consider the OSPAR principles on ecological coherence in the context of the seas around Scotland. Marine Scotland has produced detailed guidelines on Marine Protected Areas in Scotland’s Seas: Guidelines on the selection of MPAs and development of the MPA network. The final stage of the guidelines is intended to assess network design, and refinements of the proposed network can be considered in light of these assessments to ensure ecological coherence. The guidelines are intended to contribute to coherence at the OSPAR network level and to deliver the MPA network duty in the Marine (Scotland) Act.
To deliver the network I have asked Scottish Natural Heritage and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee for advice on what additional marine Natura sites may be needed to complete Scotland’s contribution to the Natura network in the marine environment by the end of 2012. I understand SNH and JNCC are working together to identify locations of seabird aggregations that may meet the scientific guidelines for classification as a SPA under the EU Birds Directive and to provide final advice on marine SAC designations to complete work under the EU Habitats Directive.
In addition, Marine Scotland is leading a project, with input from key partners including SNH and JNCC, to identify which other locations may need to be designated as Nature Conservation MPAs to complete an ecologically coherent network of MPAs. Thirty-one search locations have been proposed by SNH and JNCC for a range of features and these will be assessed using the MPA guidelines with consideration of alternatives where necessary. SNH and JNCC are also identifying search locations that could be examined to represent other features of interest. Any MPA proposals developed from these search locations will be consulted on prior to a decision on the case for designation.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S4W-04385 by reference.