Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the Agricultural Tenancies proposals Environmental Report

6. Proposed monitoring programme

Monitoring in SEA

6.1 Monitoring in SEA is a means of evaluating the environmental performance of the plan or strategy and monitoring compliance through its implementation. It is also a way to check whether the effects predicted in the SEA arise as envisaged, or whether unforeseen issues arise.

6.2 Monitoring can help to evaluate whether a plan or strategy is fulfilling its core objective of delivering sustainable development and providing for a high level of protection of the environment. The information gathered through monitoring provides a basis to inform the review and preparation of subsequent iterations of plans, strategies and projects that sit within them, thus better informing future decisions.

6.3 Measuring indicators over time can identify long-term positive or negative changes and trends in the environment and can build knowledge on how these trends will affect (or will be affected by) the implementation of the plan or strategy itself. In this respect monitoring environmental changes occurring during the Agricultural Tenancies proposals’ implementation phase can help to identify the need for additional mitigation measures or for appropriate remedial action to be undertaken where issues are identified, as well as to inform project-level assessments.

Proposed SEA monitoring programme for the Agricultural Tenancies proposals

6.4 Schedule 2 of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act highlights that the Environmental Report should include “a description of the measures envisaged concerning monitoring.” In response to this, this Environmental Report presents a proposed draft monitoring programme for measuring the proposals’ implementation. It draws on the identified potential significant effects identified through the assessment of the various components of the proposals, and also suggests where monitoring is required to help ensure that the potential benefits of the proposals are effectively achieved through implementation. This will enable appropriate interventions to be undertaken if monitoring highlights negative or underperforming trends relating to the proposals’ implementation.

6.5 The Scottish Government intends to monitor and evaluate the performance of Key Performance Indicators and use the data to enable them to adjust their approach if necessary. It is therefore beneficial if the SEA monitoring strategy builds on monitoring systems which are already in place. To this end, many of the indicators of progress chosen for the SEA are likely to reflect data that is already being routinely collected by the Scottish Government. As such, the indicators proposed for the SEA will be integrated into the Scottish Government’s monitoring approach.

6.6 Table 6.1 therefore outlines a proposed monitoring programme for measuring the proposals’ implementation. It pays particular attention to the areas where the SEA has identified potential significant effects and also suggests where monitoring is required to help ensure that the positive effects of the proposals are achieved through implementation. It includes:

• The significant effect or environmental change to be monitored.
• The SEA theme(s) to which the monitoring proposal relates.
• The indicator to be monitored.
• The source of information and frequency of monitoring; and
• The trigger for where intervention should take place if monitoring suggests it is required.

6.7 It should be noted that the monitoring proposals presented below are ‘plan-level’ and differ from the recommendations discussed In Chapter 5 relating to monitoring at the landholding scale.

Table 6.1 Proposed SEA monitoring programme

Significant effect/environmental change to be monitored: Area of restored habitat on agricultural land

SEA theme(s): Biodiversity and geodiversity

Indicator: Hectares of former farmland or other uses restored as biodiversity habitats on tenanted agricultural land

Data source: Scottish Government

Frequency: Annual

Trigger for intervention: When area does not increase on a year-on-year basis to targets set by the Scottish Government

Significant effect/environmental change to be monitored: Impact on biodiversity, soil and water quality and emissions from fertilisers

SEA theme(s): Biodiversity and geodiversity

Climate change

Soil and water quality

Indicator: Use of nitrogen fertilisers

Data source: Scottish Government

Frequency: Annual

Trigger for intervention: When use increases on a year-on-year basis.

Significant effect/environmental change to be monitored: Impact of proposals on woodland creation

SEA theme(s): Biodiversity and geodiversity

Climate change

Indicator: Area of woodland on tenanted agricultural land

Data source: Scottish Government

Frequency: Annual

Trigger for intervention: Where area does not increase on a year-on-year basis

Significant effect/environmental change to be monitored: Impacts on landscape character

SEA theme(s): Landscape and historic environment

Indicator: Landscape character assessment findings

Data source: Scottish Government

Frequency: Ongoing

Trigger for intervention: Where landscape character assessment suggests significant change has taken place

Significant effect/environmental change to be monitored: Organic land use

SEA theme(s): Soil and water quality

Indicator: Area of organic land on tenanted land

Data source: Scottish Government

Frequency: Annual

Trigger for intervention: When area does not increase on a year-on-year basis to targets set by the Scottish Government