Marine and coastal restoration plan: island communities impact assessment

4. Assessment

Our assessment of potential impacts has been informed by the consultation on the draft plan. Forty-seven per cent of those responding to the relevant consultation question believed that the objectives and actions proposed in the plan would have an impact that is significantly different for some or all island communities than for other communities.

Does your assessment identify any unique impacts on island communities?

Responses to the consultation highlighted a number of potential positive impacts which could result from restoration activity, including retention of younger people, job creation, and enhancing equality of opportunity to access support and funding. We agree with these points and note that restoration may lead to job opportunities both through direct involvement in restoration activities, and indirectly through hospitality and tourism.

Respondents also highlighted potential negative impacts of the plan. These responses focused on the risk of uneven benefit distribution (particularly where commercial initiatives are involved). A few respondents warned that such approaches could extract value from island settings without delivering lasting benefits to local people. It was also noted that poorly targeted funding or shifting project goals could undermine trust and lead to unintended social or economic disruptions.

Respondents also noted the greater economic dependency of islands on other marine sectors such as aquaculture, fishing, and fish processing, and that impacts to these would be experienced at a greater magnitude than on the Scottish mainland. A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for the plan notes that the future use of any protection mechanism for restoration may have some impacts for other marine users, as this could involve restrictions on activities in order to protect habitats and species undergoing restoration. Further policy development and consultation will be required in relation to the proposed action to establish a legislative protection mechanism for habitats and species undergoing restoration, and we will consider potential impacts on island communities in more detail as part of this process.

Does your assessment identify any potential barriers or wider impacts?

As well as identifying potential impacts of the actions within the plan, responses also highlighted challenges and barriers that island communities could face, meaning that tailored approaches will be needed to ensure fair participation and outcomes. These included smaller populations, limited transport links, digital connectivity, and greater demands on local authorities with fewer resources than mainland communities. This could have implications for accessing equipment (such as additional transportation costs) and access to skills/people with the ability to carry out restoration activity, particularly in early phases where wider expertise may be of benefit (for example due to lack of accommodation, or higher costs associated with travel to islands).

Respondents also noted that islands may be more vulnerable to environmental change such as sea-level rise, or may have a greater potential to benefit from restoration due to proximity to suitable sites, or cohesive local networks.

There are also potential barriers to interacting with the plan, such as lack of resource to engage on the development and implementation of actions. This is not a barrier which will only impact islands, as this is an that can affect restoration efforts on the mainland. In implementing the plan (including where actions will be Government-led) consideration will need to be given to ensuring equal opportunities are provided for all communities to engage.

Mitigations

The plan sets out a number of actions aimed at supporting and scaling up active restoration activity across Scotland, including the islands. Actions such as the database, one-stop-shop and facilitating knowledge exchange will all aim to reduce barriers for restoration activity. The actions will be implemented through the lifespan of the plan and continued engagement with relevant representatives will support actions to consider the specific needs of island communities. As noted, the consultation identified several potential positive impacts of the plan for island communities. We believe any potential negative impacts and barriers can be carefully considered and mitigated as necessary as part of the implementation of the plan. Due to the high-level nature of the plan, there remains a degree of uncertainty as to how impacts will develop, which makes it difficult to set out in detail proposed mitigations at this stage. Given that different actions in the plan could have the potential for differing impacts, it will be critical to keep this ICIA under review and continually assess impacts on island communities throughout the five-year lifespan of the plan.