UK Cetacean Conservation Strategy: island communities impact assessment

1. Step One – Develop a clear understanding of your objective

1.1 Background

The UK marine environment is one of the most biologically diverse in Europe, rich in both habitats and species. Whales, dolphins and porpoise (collectively known as ‘cetaceans’) are commonly seen throughout UK waters. Cetaceans play a vital role in maintaining balance in marine food webs, and as top predators, their abundance and distribution are key indicators to assess the health of the UK’s marine ecosystems. However, current pressures and emerging threats are impacting these species in UK waters. Cooperation and collective action are therefore required to tackle these threats.

1.2 What are the objectives of the policy, strategy or service?

The central vision of the UK Cetacean Conservation Strategy is to ensure the conservation and protection of cetaceans in UK waters. It will also contribute to the UK’s vision for a clean, healthy, safe, productive, and biologically diverse oceans and seas.

The Strategy sets out six high-level recommendations where action could be taken to address threats and pressures acting on the species, and where further research is required to improve the current evidence base. These recommendations take account of the main pressures facing cetacean populations, their vulnerability to these pressures, and action already underway across the UK by governments, public bodies, and stakeholders. This will assist in both achieving and maintaining Good Environmental Status in UK waters.

The objectives of the strategy are to:

1. Identify the most important pressures and threats acting on UK cetaceans, assess how they are currently being managed and whether there are gaps in the evidence base and/or management that need to be addressed through focused action.

2. Provide a framework to support delivery of action to address pressures and threats acting on UK cetaceans, with a focus on those identified under the high-level recommendations, where there is evidence of the highest vulnerability.

3. Support delivery of cetacean research and a coordinated programme of monitoring to improve our understanding of cetacean population status and assess the effectiveness of management to reduce threats and pressures facing UK cetaceans.

4. Raise awareness of the conservation, environmental economic and cultural importance of cetaceans, and promote their long-term protection in UK waters

5. Collaborate with our international partners to share knowledge and manage threats and pressures acting on cetacean species, delivering on international obligations to protect cetaceans globally.

6. Implement a process for updating the vulnerability assessments used in the Strategy for cetaceans in UK waters, based on the best available evidence.

The Strategy, as a standalone document, will not impact island communities more significantly than those on the mainland as it is not implementing any new policy. As actions are then developed and taken forward, these will be individually assessed for potential impacts on island-specific communities.

The UK Cetacean Conservation Strategy has been developed by the Scottish Government in collaboration with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Welsh Government (WG), Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland (DAERA) and the UK Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Natural England (NE), Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Nature Scot).