Sustainability

65. Sustainable development requires that when decisions are taken they have regard to longer term issues and strike an appropriate balance between a broad range of factors, economic, environmental, social and cultural. In doing this, a central place must be found for the views and experience of people living in rural communities who are often most closely involved in husbanding natural resources, maintaining social and cultural values and who should ultimately benefit from economic growth.

66. We believe that this is an area where progress has been made, particularly at the level of policy commitments and the development of national strategy. The UK Government published the UK Sustainable Development Strategy in 1994. This sets out the current situation for the full range of relevant economic activities, challenges that must be addressed and the way forward. The Scottish Advisory Group on Sustainable Development was set up by the Secretary of State for Scotland, following publication of the UK Strategy, and will contribute further to thinking on how sustainability can be achieved in Scotland. In response to the various measures proposed to take forward sustainable development, The Scottish Office commissioned a survey to determine public knowledge of and attitudes to sustainable development, and to explore public reactions to the dilemmas posed by it. Commitments to sustainable development are now finding their way into legislation, corporate plans and strategies. The Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991, which established SNH, requires SNH to "have regard to the desirability of securing that anything done, whether by SNH or any other person in relation to the natural heritage of Scotland, is undertaken in a manner which is sustainable". The legislation for the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) includes provision that the "Secretary of State for Scotland shall from time to time give guidance to SEPA. ...This must include guidance with respect to the contribution which ... the Secretary of State considers it appropriate for SEPA to make ...towards attaining the objective of achieving sustainable development". SNH and the bodies that will go to make up SEPA are preparing a Memorandum of Understanding which will set out how they plan to co-operate on this and other aspects of their duties. The Scottish Enterprise strategy contains a statement that "sustainability will...occupy an important place in our approach to economic development and environmental improvement and we will continue to work with others to expand and improve our knowledge of its implications for our actions".

67. At a more operational level there has also been encouraging progress. Local authorities have taken on board sustainability and have active policies to, among other things, minimise the use of finite resources. Highland Regional Council and Strathclyde Regional Council, among others, have a purchasing policy to reduce consumption of products such as tropical hardwoods from non-sustainable sources. Reducing, re-using and recycling waste is another policy initiative actively pursued by local authorities.

68. Improving agricultural and forestry practice towards the environment makes an important contribution to the sustainable use of resources. In agriculture there has been a strong promotion of the benefits of environmentally sustainable systems of farming for example through the Sustainable Farming Systems Initiative, a joint programme between SAC and the University of Edinburgh. Advice to farmers and crofters has been made available through the SAC Advisory Services and supported by publications such as the Scottish Farm Waste Liaison Group's publication on "Prevention of Environmental Pollution from Agricultural Activity" and "Design and Construction Guidelines for Farm Waste Storage". There is a need for continued promotion of good practice through farm-scale demonstrations and applied research. Various relevant programmes of work are in place at SAC's farms near Elgin, Aberdeen, Crianlarich, Edinburgh, Ayr and Dumfries, providing a wide regional accessibility to information. Additional information will be derived through SNH's TIBRE project. The agri-environment programme, a package of measures to support farmers and crofters in taking action which benefits the natural heritage, has recently been expanded to cover 4 main elements: the Habitats Scheme, the Heather Moorland Scheme, the Organic Aid scheme and the Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme. The latter now covers 1.4 million hectares in Scotland or 19% of the land area.

69. Forestry practice was already changing rapidly at the time "Rural Framework"was published, and improvements are continuing. The siting and design of new woodlands has been assisted by the preparation of Indicative Forestry Strategies by local authorities which was mentioned earlier and the introduction of environmental assessment for afforestation projects likely to have significant environmental effects. The Forestry Commission has revised and extended its guidelines on forest design and management and forestry schemes must comply with the standards set out in these guidelines as a condition of Government grant aid. Forestry grants are now better targeted and encourage a variety of woodland planting. In the past few years several thousand hectares of new native pine woodlands have been created. The Farm Woodland Premium Scheme is encouraging smaller scale woodland planting by farmers and the Crofter Forestry Scheme has opened up opportunities for crofting communities to develop woodland resources. Local authority Community Woodland plans now cover some 85% of the Scottish population. Following the Forestry Review the Government made further improvements to the Woodland Grant Scheme including a Livestock Exclusion Annual Premium aimed at stemming the deterioration of native woodland and a Locational Supplement to encourage new woodland in the area of the Central Scotland Forest.

70. Engaging local communities in developing a model of sustainable development for their local area is another way to put the concepts into practice. The Ettrick and Lauderdale Sustainability study aimed to develop a system that would make the interactions between different activities clearer and enable local people to decide how they might influence the outcome. The report of the study has now been published and the results made more generally available and developed through the Borders Sustainability Forum and possibly later through a national seminar. Local authorities have the responsibility of developing a Local Agenda 21 for their area, in partnership with local people. These will also set out how progress towards sustainable development for the area will be made and measured. The Tweed Horizons Centre for Sustainable Technology is an initiative promoted by Scottish Borders Enterprise. It provides a business centre for demonstrating practical sustainable development, encourages sustainable technology in the Borders and raises awareness of sustainability both locally and nationally.

71. A Tourism and Environment Task Force has been set up under the Tourism and Environment Initiative to shape policies that will encourage environmentally-friendly tourism. The Task Force has been instrumental in the implementation of Tourist Management Programmes, in St Andrews for example. Its objectives relate to enhancing visitor experience and economic benefits, as well as improving and protecting the quality of life for residents. The Highlands project funded by EU LIFE programme sponsors a number of Green tourism projects which will be used to demonstrate good practice. The Task Force has produced the publications "A Sustainable Partnership", "Going Green", "Tourism and the Scottish Environment", and a video "Tourism and the Environment".

72. There is a great deal happening in Scotland to promote the idea and practice of sustainability although in some cases changes will be slow and difficult to measure in the short term. There are also further developments in hand: proposals for costed action programmes to take forward the Biodiversity Action Plan will be published later this year. SNH launched its Species Recovery Programme earlier this year and action under the Habitats and Species Directive will establish a European network of protected sites. Further improvements will result from the development and application of SAC research on more sustainable agricultural systems, including techniques such as integrated pest management, minimum tillage systems, and strategic grassland management systems. Likewise, the development of alternative energy strategies for rural businesses and improved transport policies and communications systems in rural areas have a significant role to play and Scottish Homes has developed a number of action research projects on energy efficiency and its impact on housing design.