Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan: strategic environmental assessment post-adoption statement

Footnotes

1 Scottish Government (2024). Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 [online] Available at: Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 - gov.scot (accessed 16/12/2025)

2 Scottish Government (2024). Biodiversity: delivery plan 2024 to 2030 [online] Available at: Biodiversity: delivery plan 2024 to 2030 - gov.scot (accessed 16/12/2025)

3 The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004. Available at: The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 (accessed 30/05/2025).

4 Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005, asp 15 [online] Available at: Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 (accessed 30/05/2025)

5 Due to the geographical scope of the Plan, both the 2005 Act and the 2004 Regulations are applicable. The 2004 Regulations are referenced throughout this report, but the requirements of both the 2005 Act and the 2004 Regulations have been applied.

6 NatureScot, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Historic Environment Scotland, and Natural England.

7 Scottish Government (2025) Draft marine and coastal restoration plan: strategic environmental assessment environmental report. Available at: Draft marine and coastal restoration plan: strategic environmental assessment environmental report - gov.scot (accessed 16/12/2025).

8 Scottish Government (2025) Draft marine and coastal restoration plan: partial business and regulatory impact assessment. Available at: Draft marine and coastal restoration plan: partial business and regulatory impact assessment - gov.scot (accessed 16/12/2025)

9 Scottish Government (2025). Marine and Coastal Restoration: Consultation Analysis Report. Available at: Supporting documents - Marine and coastal restoration plan: consultation analysis report - gov.scot (accessed 13/01/2026).

10 Scottish Government (2025). Marine and coastal restoration plan consultation: Scottish Government response. Available at: Marine and coastal restoration plan consultation: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (accessed 21/01/2026).

11 UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 [online] Available at: Guidance: Strategic environmental assessment and sustainability appraisal | gov.uk (accessed 06/03/2025)

12 The precautionary principle, as it relates to the environment, is set out in Scottish Government statutory guidance, Scottish Government (2023), and defined in the UN Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992 as, “where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation”. Scottish Government (2023). Scotland’s Guiding Principles on the Environment: Statutory Guidance. Available at: scotlands-guiding-principles-environment-statutory-guidance.pdf (accessed 16/02/2026).

13 Scottish Government (2025) Draft marine and coastal restoration plan: consultation. Available at: Draft marine and coastal restoration plan: consultation - gov.scot (accessed 16/12/2025).

14 Scottish Government (2025). Marine and Coastal Restoration: Consultation Analysis Report. Available at: Supporting documents - Marine and coastal restoration plan: consultation analysis report - gov.scot (accessed 13/01/2026).

15 Scottish Government (2025) Marine and coastal restoration plan consultation: Scottish Government response. Available at: Scottish Government Response (accessed 08/01/2026).

16 Scottish Government (2025). Marine and Coastal Restoration: Consultation Analysis Report. Available at: Supporting documents - Marine and coastal restoration plan: consultation analysis report - gov.scot (accessed 13/01/2026).

17 Scottish Government (2025). Draft Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan. Published responses. Available at: Published responses for Draft Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space (accessed 13/01/2026).

18 Scottish Government (2025). Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan. Available at: Marine and coastal restoration plan - gov.scot (accessed 13/01/2026).

19 The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004. Section 17. Monitoring of implementation of plans and programmes. Available at: The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 (accessed 13/01/2026).

20 Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005. Section 19. Monitoring of implementation of qualifying plans and programmes. Available at: Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 (accessed 13/01/2026).

21 Scottish Government (2025) Draft marine and coastal restoration plan: strategic environmental assessment environmental report. Available at: Draft marine and coastal restoration plan: strategic environmental assessment environmental report - gov.scot (accessed 02/12/2025).

22 Scottish Government (2025) Marine and coastal restoration plan consultation: Scottish Government response. Available at: Scottish Government Response (accessed 08/01/2026).

23 Scottish Government (2025) Draft marine and coastal restoration plan: consultation. Available at: Draft marine and coastal restoration plan: consultation - gov.scot (accessed 02/12/2025).