Chamber and committees

TheExecutive has agreed to make an equitable contribution to the UK Kyoto targetand to work in partnership with the UK Government in moving towards thedomestic goal to reduce 1990 levels of UK carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2010. The Scottish response toclimate change therefore contains a mixture of reserved and devolved measures.Information on Scotland’s historic contribution is available in the publication GreenhouseGas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990-2000,a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bibnumber 29467) and is also available on the Executive’s climate change websiteat www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange.

Irefer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3377 on 5 November 2003. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for whichcan be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

The Executive’s actions toreduce greenhouse gas emissions cut across a number of different policy areas.In each of these areas, the main policy driver may not necessarily be climatechange, but the impact on greenhouse gas emissions is an importantconsideration when policies are being formulated. The Scottish ClimateChange Programme, available on the Executive's climate change website at www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange,includes information on expenditure in a number of these areas. Suchexpenditure will often bring social, economic and environmental benefits besidethat of reducing greenhouse gas emissions: we do not keep records of theproportion of expenditure directly attributable to emission reductions.

Scottish Natural Heritage(SNH) operates a number of management schemes which include prescriptions toensure the sympathetic management and restoration of peat bogs. These includethe Caithness and Sutherland Peatland Management Scheme, the LewisPeatlands Management Scheme and the Skye Peatlands Management Scheme. Scottish NaturalHeritage also negotiates individual management agreements with the owners andoccupiers of peat bogs throughout Scotland. Total expenditure on SNH management agreements thattarget peatland features was:

1998-99	£597,314
1999-2000	£562,898
2000-01	£605,802
2001-02	£647,409
2002-03	£674,469

In addition to thesemanagement agreements, SNH has contributed approximately £0.5 million for peatbog restoration in Scotland through EC LIFE Nature schemes.

It is not possible to identify specific amounts spent on peatland restoration through Scottish Executive agri-environment schemes.

Complete restoration of whole woodlands to peatland is not provided for in forestry grant schemes, but Forestry Commission Scotland’s Woodland Grant Scheme and the new Scottish Forestry Grant Scheme fund restoration work in relation to the management of forest edges, and smaller scale restoration of peatland habitats within forests.

Forestry Commission Scotlandis also undertaking peat bog restoration on national forest lands as part of a number of EU LIFE projects as shown in the following table:

Forestry Commission Scotland Net Expenditure Contributing to EU LIFE Projects on Peatland Restoration on National Forest Lands: 1999-2004

Year	Area (hectares)	Net Expenditure (£000) (Following EU Reimbursement)
1999-2000	none	-
2000-01	none	-
2001-02	25	11
2002-03	159	29
2003-04 (to date)	110	50
2000-04 (to date)	Longbridgemuir SSSI, Dumfriesshire	126

There is no definitiveestimate of Scottish peatland coverage but Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) hasproduced estimates for two of the three main types of peatland, namely blanketbog and raised bog.

Blanket Bog

SNH’s recently developedScottish blanket bog inventory estimates the total extent of blanket bog as1,927,000 ha. Some 55% of this is considered to be degraded to varying degreesas a result of past agricultural drainage, peat cutting, erosion etc.

Raised Bog

SNH have estimated thatthere are approximately 24,000 ha of raised bog at present, of which 14% isactively peat forming, 23% is degraded but capable of restoration and 63% is nolonger restorable.

Fens

Fens, the third habitat andthe lesser of the three types in terms of area, are the least known in terms ofdiversity, extent and condition. Scottish Natural Heritage has recently embarkedupon the development of a Fen Inventory to collate information held by itself,other agencies and voluntary organisations.

TheUK Blanket Bog Habitat Action Plan target is to restore 75% of the total extentof restorable blanket bog in the UK by 2015. Scotland’s contribution to this target is being monitoredthrough a series of interim targets, the first of which is to bring the totalarea of blanket bog in or near favourable condition to 340,000 hectares by2005. Progress towards these targets is monitored and overseen by ScottishNatural Heritage.

Scottish Natural Heritage iscurrently working to develop an agreed definition of “favourable condition”,and assess the condition of blanket bog within the Sites of Special Scientific Interestseries, and that exercise has not yet been completed. To help secure favourablecondition and restore areas of minor degradation, Scottish Natural Heritageoperates a number of management schemes and agreements as well as contributingto specific bog restoration projects.

he Executive recognises thatpeatland also offers the potential to assist delivery of its target for reducedcarbon emissions by 2050. The Scottish Executive supports the maintenance andrestoration of peatlands through its agri-environment schemes and throughScottish Natural Heritage (SNH). SNH’s Natural Care Schemes are targetedthrough the Caithness and Sutherland and Lewis Peatland Management Schemesas well as other management agreements with individual owners and occupiers ofpeat bogs.

Projects aimed atrestoration of blanket and raised bogs in Scotland have additionally benefited from substantial supportfrom the EC Life-Nature Programme. These initiatives have received Scottish Executive support and this will continue in future where appropriate.

Datain the format requested are not collected by the Executive. The most recent data on Scottish greenhouse gasemissions are availablein the publication Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990-2000. A copy of this report hasbeen placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number 29467) and is alsoavailable on the Executive’s climate change website at www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange.

There is no data availablespecifically on emissions from peat soils.

The most recently publisheddata on Scottish greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions from all soilsdue to land use change are available in the publication Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990-2000. A copy of this report has beenplaced in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 29467) and is alsoavailable on the Executive’s climate change website at www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange.