What plans it has to develop new (a) land and (b) marine national parks.

Scotland’s National Parks are two of Scotland’s greatest assets. The Scottish Government fully recognises the valuable contribution that they make to our tourism industry and wider Scottish economy, and the vital role that our National Park Authorities play in managing the parks, in supporting sustainable rural development, in promoting and enhancing the visitor experience, and ensuring that the parks stunning landscapes and special qualities are conserved and enhanced for future generations.
While the success of our national parks is unquestioned, we believe it would be wrong at this time to raise expectations regarding the designation of others, particularly at a time of significant real terms reduction in both resource and capital funding available to the Scottish Government. While we would not rule out a further designation at a future stage, this would only be appropriate if there was a clear view expressed as to what model of new national park is being proposed; what its objectives were; whether a robust business case demonstrating its financial sustainability was demonstrated; and clear evidence of community and local authority support was made. As there are no current proposals which meet these tests, the Scottish Government has no current plans to designate further national parks in Scotland. Instead, we believe it is essential to continue to focus support on our two existing parks, to continue to deliver excellence in the visitor experience and to maximise the contribution they make to meeting local and national objectives, and in support of the statutory aims agreed by the Scottish Parliament.