Rural and Environment

Environmental Strategy analysis published

February 16, 2019 by johnfitzgerald No Comments | Category Environment, EU, Uncategorized

By Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham

In the Programme for Government, we committed to developing an Environment Strategy to help protect and enhance Scotland’s natural environment and continue our leading role in tackling global environmental challenges.

I set out our plans for developing the Strategy in a discussion paper, published last summer. Thisoutlined a draft vision and a set of supporting outcomes, describing the overarching ambitions that our environment and climate change policies are working to achieve, and invited feedback through an eight-week online discussion. Views were sought on a series of draft knowledge accounts, which will support the development of the Strategy by bringing together evidence on the status of our environment, as well as past and future drivers of change.

All responses to the online discussion have now been independently analysed and I am delighted to be publishing the analysis report today. The individual responses (where permission was granted) have also been published.

The report concludes that there was broad support for the draft vision, outcomes and knowledge accounts, with suggestions for refinements and improvements. We will carefully consider these suggestions as we take forward the development of the Strategy, and I am grateful to respondents for their valuable feedback.

I look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders this year to take forward the development of the Strategy. This work will be undertaken in close connection with the development of future arrangements for environmental principles and governance after EU exit. While the future relationship between the UK and the EU is still uncertain and the UK Government remains unable to provide much needed clarity about the future, we need to prepare for whatever the future brings. As such, I have launched a consultation today seeking your views on how to ensure we have an effective and appropriate system of environmental governance to monitor and enforce environmental standards, and on how regard will continue to be had to the EU environmental principles. I encourage you to contribute your views on these important issues.

Tags: consultation, environment, governance, strategy

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