Question reference: S6W-11782
- Asked by: Jenni Minto, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 26 October 2022
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Mairi McAllan on 27 October 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to respond to the findings of the 2021 Review of Scotland’s National Marine Plan.
Answer
In 2015, the Scottish Government was one of the first governments to develop and adopt a National Marine Plan, which sets out the strategic framework and policies for the sustainable development of our marine resources out to 200 nautical miles.
Since 2015, there have been significant changes in Scotland – including our commitment to becoming a net zero nation by 2045, the impacts of EU exit and increased understanding of the impacts of climate change and human activity on the marine environment. The most recent statutory review of the National Marine Plan, published in 2021, suggested that while the current plan is effective, the urgent need to tackle the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, amongst other more recent factors, such as energy security, has become a core driver for a new plan.
Acknowledging the findings of this review, we have decided that now is the time to develop a new National Marine Plan. The National Marine Plan 2 (“NMP2”) will take account of the aspirations and framing set out in the recently published Blue Economy Vision, among other long-term commitments outlined in the Programme for Government and Bute House Agreement.
Developing our second National Marine Plan will be a considerable undertaking, comparable to the efforts required to develop its terrestrial equivalent, National Planning Framework 4. It will involve extensive consultation with stakeholders and a series of technical assessments, which we estimate will take in the region of three years to complete.
There will be significant choices to make as we proceed through the planning process. We want all sectors and communities to be part of developing this National Marine Plan 2, building shared objectives for the future of Scotland’s seas. In the spirit of this commitment, today we have published a Stakeholder Engagement Strategy for the development of National Marine Plan 2, which includes our statutory Statement of Public Participation. These resources outline when and how we intend to engage with the people of Scotland throughout the process and will be updated on a regular basis.
These documents and further information are available at: