Appendix B: Overview of objectives and actions
The draft plan is structured into five themes. Each theme has objectives, underpinned by the actions the Scottish Government will take to deliver those objectives.
Respondents were asked to prioritise the objectives in each theme and indicate whether they felt each action should be included in this plan, reserved for the future, or excluded. The tables below provide an overview of all objectives and actions included in the plan.
Prioritisation of objectives
On a scale from 1 to 5, how would you prioritise each of the objectives in this theme?
Table 2: Theme 1 – Restoration opportunities and priorities (Q1)
| All answering for each objective: |
n= |
% Very important (5) |
% Quite important (4) |
% Neutral (3) |
% Not very important (2) |
% Not at all important (1) |
% Unsure (0) |
| Establish a rolling programme of opportunity maps |
75 |
41 |
39 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
| Develop criteria for priority habitats and species |
76 |
57 |
24 |
7 |
4 |
0 |
9 |
| Support and enable landscape scale restoration |
75 |
59 |
21 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
12 |
| Promote the importance of a place-based approach and baseline surveys |
76 |
61 |
21 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
Table 3: Theme 2 – Regulatory Environment (Q4)
| All answering for each objective: |
n= |
% Very important (5) |
% Quite important (4) |
% Neutral (3) |
% Not very important (2) |
% Not at all important (1) |
% Unsure (0) |
| Support restoration projects navigating the regulatory environment |
75 |
59 |
20 |
8 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
| Encourage better join-up, transparency and information sharing across regulators and public bodies |
74 |
59 |
20 |
5 |
1 |
7 |
7 |
| Establish protection mechanisms for habitats and species undergoing restoration |
75 |
51 |
23 |
8 |
3 |
7 |
9 |
Table 4: Theme 3 – Funding and Finance (Q7)
| All answering for each objective: |
n= |
% Very important (5) |
% Quite important (4) |
% Neutral (3) |
% Not very important (2) |
% Not at all important (1) |
% Unsure (0) |
| Address the funding gap for project development and groundwork phases |
75 |
59 |
17 |
4 |
0 |
12 |
8 |
| Continue investment in pipeline of projects |
75 |
51 |
20 |
5 |
0 |
12 |
12 |
| Ensure private sector investment can support restoration at scale but does not bypass local communities |
75 |
51 |
19 |
8 |
4 |
9 |
9 |
Table 5: Theme 4 – Supply Chains and Communities (Q10)
| All answering for each objective: |
n= |
% Very important (5) |
% Quite important (4) |
% Neutral (3) |
% Not very important (2) |
% Not at all important (1) |
% Unsure (0) |
| Support knowledge exchange, data sharing and best practice learning on active restoration between projects and across the sector |
76 |
47 |
18 |
8 |
1 |
20 |
5 |
| Increase participation and engagement of other marine and coastal users in restoration |
75 |
44 |
33 |
1 |
0 |
19 |
3 |
| Support more resilient supply chains for restoration while maintaining high standards of biosecurity |
76 |
51 |
17 |
5 |
0 |
18 |
8 |
Table 6: Theme 5 – Evidence and Monitoring (Q13)
| All answering for each objective: |
n= |
% Very important (5) |
% Quite important (4) |
% Neutral (3) |
% Not very important (2) |
% Not at all important (1) |
% Unsure (0) |
| Support improved and more standardised evidence gathering and monitoring for active restoration |
74 |
61 |
12 |
3 |
3 |
14 |
8 |
| Improve understanding of how active restoration can contribute to targets and generate environmental, social and economic benefits |
73 |
49 |
21 |
3 |
4 |
16 |
7 |
| Improve the availability of information on restoration projects in Scotland |
74 |
54 |
18 |
4 |
3 |
15 |
7 |
| Explore potential contribution of citizen science to data collection and monitoring |
74 |
34 |
20 |
15 |
4 |
18 |
9 |
Inclusion of actions
Please choose for each action set out in this theme whether it should be included in this plan, reserved for the future, or not included.
Table 7: Theme 1 – Restoration opportunities and priorities (Q2)
| All answering for each action: |
n= |
% Include in this plan |
% Reserve for future plan(s) |
% Do not include |
% Unsure |
| Develop opportunity maps for habitats and species, taking into account restoration priorities |
76 |
79 |
9 |
1 |
11 |
| Gather and incorporate further data to refine opportunity maps and develop new layers |
76 |
70 |
16 |
1 |
13 |
| Explore appetite for more localised and/or regional opportunity maps |
76 |
67 |
20 |
1 |
12 |
| Set out priorities at national scale, while supporting regional partnerships and other local coalitions to identify regional priorities |
75 |
83 |
5 |
1 |
11 |
| Review and update priorities using the criteria once established to ensure action is targeted where it is most urgently needed |
76 |
62 |
29 |
0 |
9 |
| Improve understanding of connections between habitats and species to generate and ecosystem level benefits |
76 |
79 |
9 |
0 |
12 |
| Encourage landscape scale funding |
75 |
69 |
13 |
3 |
15 |
| Enable join-up between projects |
76 |
70 |
16 |
3 |
12 |
Table 8: Theme 2 – Regulatory Environment (Q5)
| All answering for each action: |
n= |
% Include in this plan |
% Reserve for future plan(s) |
% Do not include |
% Unsure |
| Identify opportunities to create and fund a support post(s) to help projects navigate regulatory requirements |
76 |
70 |
11 |
5 |
14 |
| Update and produce further guidance on regulatory requirements, including mapping what is needed and when |
76 |
76 |
12 |
0 |
12 |
| Create a ‘one-stop-shop’ for guidance, information and knowledge exchange, including a database of projects to improve oversight of where restoration is happening |
75 |
81 |
7 |
1 |
11 |
| Set up a forum for relevant bodies to share regular updates |
76 |
68 |
14 |
3 |
14 |
| Invite local authorities to information workshops to raise awareness of restoration |
75 |
69 |
17 |
0 |
13 |
| Work with regulatory bodies to ensure support for restoration is a key priority |
73 |
75 |
4 |
4 |
16 |
| Explore how best to implement a protection mechanism, in law, for habitats and species undergoing restoration |
76 |
62 |
20 |
7 |
12 |
| Set out clear monitoring requirements, as well as procedures for cases where restoration is not successful |
75 |
75 |
12 |
1 |
12 |
| Encourage early engagement with local communities and other sea users to consider voluntary arrangements, for example codes of conduct |
75 |
81 |
11 |
0 |
8 |
| Include policies in NMP2 to support active restoration |
75 |
76 |
8 |
7 |
9 |
Table 9: Theme 3 – Funding and Finance (Q8)
| All answering for each action: |
n= |
% Include in this plan |
% Reserve for future plan(s) |
% Do not include |
% Unsure |
| Support to develop innovative funding streams (public and private sector) |
76 |
78 |
7 |
0 |
16 |
| Highlight existing public and private sector funding streams such as SMEEF that already target this phase |
74 |
84 |
3 |
1 |
12 |
| Promote the importance of funding project development activities to a wider range of funders |
76 |
75 |
8 |
0 |
17 |
| Work with regulators and other public bodies to de-risk project development (for example by providing more clarity on costs and timelines for licenses and consents) |
76 |
75 |
13 |
0 |
12 |
| Maintain support for SMEEF for duration of this first plan |
76 |
76 |
4 |
3 |
17 |
| Explore the potential for a matchmaking service linking businesses to projects |
76 |
62 |
17 |
3 |
18 |
| Use SMEEF to leverage funding into community-led projects |
76 |
78 |
5 |
4 |
13 |
Table 10: Theme 4 – Supply Chains and Communities (Q11)
| All answering for each action: |
n= |
% Include in this plan |
% Reserve for future plan(s) |
% Do not include |
% Unsure |
| Foster communities of practice, both through existing networks and new networks and platforms where helpful |
75 |
77 |
7 |
4 |
12 |
| Work with interested institutions to explore the potential for a biennial conference and other workshops or training events for practitioners and academia, with a focus on sharing practical learning |
74 |
62 |
16 |
11 |
11 |
| Use the one-stop-shop noted in Theme 2 as a platform for knowledge exchange, case studies and data sharing (including citizen science) |
75 |
72 |
16 |
1 |
11 |
| Explore the potential for a prize for restoration innovation |
75 |
28 |
29 |
21 |
21 |
| Encourage early engagement with other marine users in project development |
76 |
87 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
| Publish case studies on how restoration activities can benefit multiple marine users and/or where cross-sectoral efforts have been successful |
76 |
76 |
9 |
3 |
12 |
| Promote the socio-economic development potential of restoration as a sector |
75 |
75 |
12 |
1 |
12 |
| Support new and existing enterprises aimed at developing supply chains |
76 |
67 |
17 |
3 |
13 |
| Update and expand guidance on supply chain best practice, for example, biosecurity and genetic diversity |
76 |
74 |
16 |
3 |
8 |
Table 11: Theme 5 – Evidence and Monitoring (Q14)
| All answering for each action: |
n= |
% Include in this plan |
% Reserve for future plan(s) |
% Do not include |
% Unsure |
| Work with projects and research institutions to develop and share user-friendly, standardised data collection best practices for before, during and post-restoration activity |
72 |
83 |
6 |
1 |
10 |
| Develop understanding of ways to measure how restoration efforts contribute to achieving Good Environmental Status and other targets in our marine environment |
72 |
81 |
8 |
4 |
7 |
| Help and encourage projects to capture data on social and economic impacts of active restoration |
72 |
78 |
11 |
0 |
11 |
| Establish and maintain a database of restoration projects |
72 |
81 |
8 |
4 |
7 |
