Scottish seabird conservation action plan: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Seabird conservation action plan: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

1. Brief Summary

Type of proposal: Decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children

Name the proposal, and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.

The Scottish Seabird Conservation Action Plan sets out the Scottish Government’s vision for thriving seabird populations.

Key Terms

• Organism: an individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form.
• Predation: a biological interaction where one organism (the predator) kills and eats another organism (its prey).
• Bycatch: when unwanted fish and other marine creatures become trapped by commercial fishing nets during fishing for a different species.

The action plan focuses on actions to address the key pressures impacting seabird populations in Scotland such as, predation, bycatch and reduction of prey and ultimately, on where seabird conservation efforts are most needed and can be most effective. It will bring together in one place actions that are already ongoing with suggestions for a set of actions that should be taken to achieve the vision for thriving seabird populations

Start date of proposal’s development: September 2024

Start date of CRWIA process: October 2024

2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which aspects of the proposal are relevant to/impact upon children’s rights?

Limited elements of the action plan are potentially relevant to, or impact upon, the rights of children and young people up to the age of 18, as this plan is primarily related to seabird conservation. Upon implementation of actions within the plan, and if its aims are achieved, with respect to the 2024 Act, positive contributions to the following Articles could be made:

Article 29: Goals of Education – the development of respect for the natural environment

The Scottish Seabird Centre, as stated in the plan, attracts 175,000 visits a year and engages with a further 5,000 people through its wider conservation, education and outreach programmes. Ensuring a thriving and resilient seabird population will only help guarantee opportunities to learn and develop in respect to Scotland’s natural environment are secure.

Article 31: Leisure, play and culture

The action plan’s aim to restore and build resilient seabird populations in Scotland will help secure the next generation’s ability to benefit from, interact with and fully participate in Scotland’s unique natural environment, which is a core element of national culture and identity.

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal

The Scottish Government held a public consultation on the plan, which ran from 11 December 2024 to 5 March 2025 and received multiple responses that highlighted the importance of education surrounding Scotland’s seabirds and the opportunities that arise from this. Respondents included both interested individuals and organisations. Additionally, the plan was developed by a focused working group and drew on feedback from sectoral interests. A stakeholder workshop was held in February 2020 and provided an early opportunity for attendees to have sight of the developing plan.

4. Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed

No gaps in evidence have been identified.

5. Analysis of Evidence

Among the consultation respondents was the Scottish Wildlife Trust, who found, as part of work to capture how people value the marine environment, that communities wanted to see more education on marine issues in schools and that they “support the addition of awareness raising in the action plan to increase people’s understanding and involvement in seabird conservation”. One of the plan’s objectives is to raise awareness of “the conservation, environmental, economic, and cultural importance of Scotland's seabirds across all sectors, fostering societal behavioural changes that reduce risks to seabird populations and promote their long-term protection”. Within the consultation itself, no responses raised any potential negative impacts on the health or interests of children.

The plan itself is not introducing new policy, instead bringing together in one place actions that are already ongoing and suggestions for a set of future actions to help achieve the Scottish Government’s vision for thriving seabird populations by 2045.

Upon individual actions being taken forward for implementation, further CRWIA evaluations in relation to those particular actions will be undertaken where necessary. This will ensure children’s rights and welfare are considered moving forward and throughout the development and introduction of new policy.

6. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?

As any results from the assessment have been determined to be positive, no changes have been made to the action plan as a result of this assessment.