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Publication - Consultation paper

Nitrate Vulnerable Zones Action Programme review: consultation

Published
21 July 2025
From
Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, +1 more … Director of Environment and Forestry
Directorate
Environment and Forestry Directorate
Topic
Farming and rural
ISBN
9781836919322

We are consulting on our review of the Action Programme for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (Scotland) Regulations 2008. We are reviewing the measures in the Action Programme to evaluate whether they remain sufficient to achieve the aim of reducing the loss of nitrate from farming to the water environment.

Closed
This consultation closed 13 October 2025.

View this consultation on consult.gov.scot, including responses once published.

Consultation analysis

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Footnotes

1 Nitrate Vulnerable Zones - Protection of Water Against Agricultural Nitrate Pollution (Scotland) Regulations 1996: implementation report 2020 to 2023

2 I Akoumianaki, Lags in water quality response to diffuse pollution control measures: a review, CREW, 2021.

3 F Nicholson and B Chambers, Review and recommendations for minimum livestock manure nitrogen efficiency coefficients, ADAS, 2011.

4 F Nicholson, A Rollett and B Chambers Review and recommendations of pollutant losses from solid manures stored in temporary field heaps, ADAS, 2011.

5 J Cloy, A Lilly, P Hargreaves, Z Gagkas, S Dolan, N Baggaley, M Stutter, B Crooks, G Elrick, B McKenzie, A state of knowledge overview of identified pathways of diffuse pollutants to the water environment, CREW, 2022.

6 Agricultural Reform Programme route-map.

7 Whole Farm Plan guidance.

8 Prevention of Environmental Pollution From Agricultural Activity (PEPFAA) code of good practice.

9 I Akoumianaki, Lags in water quality response to diffuse pollution control measures: a review, CREW, 2021.

10 L May, P Taylor, I D. M. Gunn, S J. Thackeray, L R. Carvalho, P Hunter, M Corr, A J. Dobel, A Grant, G Nash, E Robinson and B M. Spears, Assessing climate change impacts on the water quality of Scottish standing waters, CREW, 2022.

Contact

Email: waterenvironment@gov.scot

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