Marine and coastal restoration plan: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Conclusion

7. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all UNCRC requirements, what is the potential overall impact of this proposal on children’s rights?

Positive impact.

8. If you have identified a positive impact on children’s rights, please describe below how the proposal will protect, respect, and fulfil children’s rights in Scotland.

Implementation of the objectives and priority actions contained within the Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan will protect, respect and fulfil children’s rights in Scotland by:

• improving the environment in which they live, including mitigating and adapting to the negative effects of biodiversity loss and climate change
• providing more access to marine and coastal spaces to benefit physical and mental health

• providing further educational opportunities for children, increasing knowledge but also appreciation and connection with the environment

• providing opportunities to get involved in nature restoration, increasing skills and potentially employment options, for example through expanding skill sets and work experience opportunities
• providing a platform to improve accessibility of information and knowledge sharing

9. If a negative impact has been identified, please describe it below. Is there a risk this could potentially amount to an incompatibility?

The evidence gathered identified a range of positive impacts when looking at accelerating restoration in Scotland. Consultation responses also identified a potential indirect impact to children and young people through negative socio-economic impacts on their families (for example if any protection mechanism implemented under the plan was used to put measures in place that restricted other human activities). Actions in the plan are not prescriptive in terms of where restoration may take place in future, and restoration activities could in some cases be co-located with other activities. It is therefore not possible to assess this potential impact in detail at this stage, and this will need to be considered if appropriate as relevant actions are implemented to ensure that any potential impacts are properly identified.

10. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all wellbeing indicators, will the proposal contribute to the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland? (Guidance Section 2.3.2, pages 20-22).

Safe: Not Applicable

Healthy: Yes

Achieving: Yes

Nurtured: Yes

Active: Yes

Respected: Yes

Responsible: Not Applicable

Included: Yes

If yes, please provide an explanation below:

Healthy and nurtured– improving access to restored areas will encourage outdoor play and learning, benefit physical and emotional development, and strengthen their connection to the natural world. Active participation in restoration activities should also promote physical health.

Achieving – supporting community led restoration is one of the plans overarching aims and children should have the opportunities to build skills through volunteering, develop future careers created through restoration activities and gain greater connection with the community.

Active – having more natural areas closer should allow children more opportunity to explore nature through play, for natural areas to be used as part of the school curriculum and for communities to actively manage areas for the benefit of nature.

Respected and Included - through active engagement with actions to restore areas, whether through school or community group activities, the views of children should be taken into account and implemented on the ground.

11. How will you communicate to children and young people the impact that the proposal will have on their rights?

This CRWIA is published in the public domain for anyone wishing to access and refer to it. It has been written, where possible, in language which is accessible, so that its contents potential effects on their rights and wellbeing can be understood.