Question reference: S5W-24479
- Asked by: Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 25 July 2019
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Current status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 August 2019
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of research by Scottish Natural Heritage stating that Uist is the most vulnerable community in Scotland in this regard, which government department or public body is responsible for the creation of a mitigation strategy or action plan to address the potential loss of community property, crofting land and rare and significant ecosystems by the projected effects of climate change and relative sea-level rise on the island, and what steps this department or body has taken in relation to the declared climate emergency.
Answer
Part 4 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 places duties on public bodies relating to climate change. These duties require that a public body must, in exercising its functions, act in the way best calculated to contribute to the delivery of emissions reduction targets (known as 'mitigation'), in the way best calculated to help deliver any statutory climate change adaptation programme, and in a way that it considers is most sustainable.
'Public Bodies' are defined as a Scottish public authority within the meaning of Section 3(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (as amended) and include Scottish Ministers, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, the Scottish Administration, local government, NHS, educational institutions, police and other listed bodies including SEPA, SNH, Historic Environment Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue and the Crofting Commission. For each year, a listed body must prepare a report on compliance with its climate change duties. The listed body must send the report to the Scottish Ministers within a period of 8 months from the end of the report year. Reports are available on the Sustainable Scotland Network website.
The Scottish Government continues to support research into erosion and flooding, which are both anticipated to worsen under climate change. The Dynamic Coast research shows anticipated erosion at DynamicCoast.com, which should be viewed alongside SEPA’s Flood Maps. The latest research is being informed by a LiDAR survey of the Western Isles, which will be reflected in future revisions of Flood Risk Management Strategies and any future Shoreline Management Plan. The Scottish Government provides funding to Local Authorities to undertake Flood Studies and Flood Protection Schemes which align with the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Adaptation Programme.
Research assessed coastal erosion and accretion rates around Scotland and projected these forward to 2050. It concluded that we should expect faster and more extensive erosion than we have been used to, increasingly affecting all asset types (buildings, infrastructure, cultural and natural heritage). The research team produced a detailed report for the Western Isles, which is available at the Dynamic Coast website.
Phase 2 of Dynamic Coast will be completed in 2020 and will consider how resilient our coastline is to climate change and how sea level rise will further accelerate the rate of erosion in future.
SNH is supporting local partners in the Western Isles to improve awareness of climate change risks and how to use Nature Based Solutions to increase resilience, reduce flood and erosion risks. This approach will help safeguard the unique landforms, habitats and wildlife on which local communities depend.
The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 provides a number of areas for improving outcomes for island communities including environmental wellbeing. The Act also includes provisions to develop a National Islands Plan and a duty for certain authorities, including Scottish Ministers, to have regard to island communities in carrying out their functions. The plan must list the public authorities that have duties under this Act. As part of the development of the National Islands Plan, we have recently conducted a wide consultation process taking into account the unique context of each island, whilst addressing the particular challenges faced by islands and their communities. The National Islands Plan also seeks to safeguard nature on the islands, by highlighting the importance of environmental protection.