Question reference: S6W-01133
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
- Date lodged: 1 July 2021
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Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 11 August 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Scottish National Party's manifesto commitment to provide an additional "£500 million in our natural economy", when this will be delivered, and whether it will include further targeted funding for countryside rangers.
Answer
Last year due to restrictions on international travel we saw an increased number of visitors and campers to the countryside. With restrictions ongoing, for this year only, we are supporting local authorities, National Parks and communities with an additional £2.75M to put in place temporary solutions for 2021, such as additional ranger posts, temporary car parks and toilets.
Our primary method in supporting sustainable tourism in rural areas remains the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund which was doubled to £6.2M this year, bringing our total investment to £15M. This has supported the development of car parks, toilets and motorhome waste facilities at some of Scotland’s most popular rural areas.
The Scottish Government is committed to investing £500M in our natural economy over the course of this Parliament to help tackle the biodiversity crisis. We will work with NatureScot, the National Parks, and local authorities to determine where our funding can have the most positive effect and deliver the best value for money.