Draft Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan - Introduction - Scottish Government consultations

Introduction

Thriving marine and coastal ecosystems provide many benefits, both to the people who interact with them and to the wider natural world. Scotland has an incredibly rich and diverse marine environment, which is one of the most important assets to our ecological and economic prosperity. Yet we are facing a twin climate and biodiversity crisis and our marine and coastal ecosystems are under increasing pressure from climate change, pollution, and historic degradation.

To combat this decline, there is growing interest in undertaking marine and coastal nature restoration across Scotland, especially through activities that can be described as active restoration: the creation or reintroduction of habitats and species. activity comes in many shapes and sizes, most projects currently in the water in Scotland are small, community-led initiatives.

Restoration can provide a range of benefits;

Ecologically it supports ecosystem resilience through increased biodiversity and habitat provision e.g. nursery and feeding grounds. It could also contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation through supporting habitats that absorb and store carbon, and by improving coastal resilience and reducing flood risks.

Socially and economically, restoration can create local opportunities for volunteering, education, community access to and engagement with the marine and coastal environment, hospitality, and green jobs. These are all beneficial for supporting coastal communities and a just transition to a more sustainable marine economy; Scotland is unique in that most restoration projects currently taking place are community-led.

Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (2024)

Objective 1: To accelerate restoration and regeneration

The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) 2024 recognises we need to urgently scale up efforts to drive landscape and seascape scale recovery. Active restoration can make a contribution to this recovery, which is why under the SBS Delivery Plan we have committed to publishing a marine and coastal restoration plan that will set out how we intend to accelerate marine restoration in Scotland, including identifying actions to help prioritise habitats and locations suitable for restoration.

Plan structure

The draft plan is structured into five themes, each of which tackles a different aspect of what is needed to accelerate restoration in Scotland’s coast and waters. For each theme we have developed objectives that we are looking to achieve through this first marine and coastal restoration plan, underpinned by the actions we will take to deliver those objectives.

Diagram showing the five themes: Restoration opportunities and priorities, Regulatory environment, Funding and finance, Supply chains and communities, Evidence and monitoring.

Restoration opportunities and priorities focusses on improving our understanding of where restoration could happen and what is in need of restoration most urgently.

Regulatory environment explores ways to ensure regulations, licenses and other oversight procedures support those interested in undertaking restoration and protect habitats and species undergoing restoration, while safeguarding the environment and considering impacts on other sea users.

Funding and Finance looks at how we can address funding gaps, leverage private sector investment, and channel funding streams so that the benefits of restoration are felt and seen in local communities.

Supply chains and communities tackles some of the more practical aspects of restoration and how we can support and scale up community-led restoration.

Evidence and monitoring sets out how we can improve knowledge gaps about restoration in the Scottish marine environment, both in terms of understanding of where it can happen, but also how restoration supports and contributes to Good Environmental Status of our marine and coastal ecosystems, as well as the social and economic impacts.