Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba … Plan 2015-18.pdf · Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba Corporate Plan Plana Corporra 2015 – 2018

Scottish Natural Heritage Corporate Plan 2015 – 2018 Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba Plana Corporra 2015-18

Scottish Natural HeritageDualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Corporate PlanPlana Corporra 2015 – 2018


Contents Clàr-innse

Foreword Facal tòiseachaidh

Introduction Ro-ràdh

The natural environment and us An àrainneachd nàdarra agus sinne

Who we are, what we do Cò sinn, Na tha sinn a’ dèanamh

Supporting the Scottish Government’s purpose A’ cur taic ri Rùn Riaghaltas na h-Alba

Emerging political and environmental priorities Prìomhachasan poilitigeach is àrainneachdail a tha a’ nochdadh

Becoming smaller, smarter and more influential A’ fàs nas lugha, nas gleusta is nas buadhaiche

Outcomes and priorities Toraidhean is prìomhachasan

Organising our work Ag eagrachadh ar n-obrach

Caring for the natural world A’ gabhail cùram dhan t-saoghal nàdarra

Enriching people’s lives A’ leasachadh beatha dhaoine

Promoting sustainable economic growth Ag adhartachadh fàs seasmhach eaconamach

Delivering a high-quality public service A’ lìbhrigeadh sàr sheirbheis phoblach

Indicative spend by portfolio Caitheamh taisbeanach a rèir cùram-roinne

Outcome Measures Ceuman Buileachaidh

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Ian Ross, Chairman Iain Ros, Neach-cathrach

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba

Many of the things we rely on to prosper as a nation depend on the quality and abundance of nature and natural resources. Nature and landscapes are some of Scotland’s most wonderful and valued assets. This bounty is part of our public domain: it enriches our lives and the management of natural resources is the basis for sustainable economic growth. We inherit nature from previous generations and gift it onto subsequent ones. Whether we own and manage land or our seas, or influence them through what we buy and our lifestyles, we are all stewards of nature.

Strategy and policy is, quite rightly, increasingly centred on public benefits and where most difference can be made through our actions. In SNH we must consider how our activities relate to surrounding land or seas and the benefits to people. This ‘ecosystem approach’ involves the integrated management of land, water and living resources and promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way.

Foreword Facal tòiseachaidh

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Tha mòran de na nithean sa bheil earbsa againn gus soirbheachadh mar dhùthaich an urra ri càileachd is lìonmhorachd nàdair agus goireasan nàdair. ’S e nàdar is cruthan-tìre cuid de na so-mhaoinean as mìorbhailiche is as prìseile a th’ aig Alba. Tha an toirbheartas seo na phàirt de ar raon poblach: tha e a’ beairteachadh ar beatha agus tha riaghladh ghoireasan nàdarra na bhunait airson fàs seasmhach eaconamach. Tha sinn a’ sealbhachadh nàdar bho na ginealaichean a chaidh romhainn agus ga shìneadh sìos gun fheadhainn a thig nar dèidh. Tha sinn uile nar stiùbhardan nàdair co dhiubh a bheil sinn ann an seilbh no a’ ruith fearann no ar cuantan, no a’ toirt buaidh orra tro na tha sinn a’ ceannach is tro ar dòighean-beatha.

Tha ro-innleachd is poileasaidh, gu ceart, a’ cùimseachadh air sochairean poblach agus air nithean a nì an diofar as motha tro ar gnìomhan. Ann an SNH feumaidh sinn beachdachadh air mar


The approach takes account of how nature works, the benefits that nature provides to people and crucially involves people in making decisions.

We believe that working in this way and with others in shared endeavours, makes best use of our resources and talents. This Plan signals opportunities for joint planning and delivery with many public sector bodies. In practice delivery will need to go much further than this to include the NGOs, vibrant voluntary organisations and the entrepreneurialism of the private sector. Working together we are more likely to achieve the creativity and innovation that we need to be good stewards of nature.

I believe that this approach is the right one for our times. Working collaboratively we need to take forward this challenging agenda and address issues so that nature continues to be a vital part of a successful, flourishing Scotland.

a tha ar gnìomhan a’ buntainn ris an fhearann no na cuantan mu ar timcheall agus ri sochairean dha daoine. Tha an ‘dòigh-obrach eag-shiostamach’ seo a’ gabhail a-steach riaghladh aonaichte air fearann, uisge is goireasan beò agus tha e ag adhartachadh glèidhteachas is cleachdadh seasmhach ann an dòigh cothromach. Tha am modh-obrach a’ gabhail sùim dhan dòigh sa bheil nàdar ag obrachadh, dha na sochairean a tha nàdar a’ toirt dha daoine agus gu deatamach a’ cur daoine an sàs ann an co-dhùnaidhean.

Tha sinn a’ creidsinn gu bheil a bhith ag obair san dòigh seo agus còmhla ri càch ann an oidhirpean roinnte, a’ cleachdadh ar goireasan is ar tàlantan san dòigh as fheàrr. Tha am Plana seo a’ tabhann chothroman airson co-phlanadh is co-lìbhrigeadh le mòran bhuidhnean san roinn phoblaich. Sa chleachdadh feumaidh lìbhrigeadh a dhol nas fhaide na seo gus buidhnean neo-riaghaltasach, buidhnean beòthail saor-thoileach agus iomairteachd na roinne prìobhaidiche a ghabhail a-steach. Ag obair còmhla ri chèile tha sinn nas buailtiche an cruthachaileachd is an ùr-ghnàthachadh a dh’fheumas sinn airson a bhith nar deagh stiùbhardan nàdair a choileanadh.

Tha mi a’ creidsinn gur e seo an dòigh cheart aig an àm seo. Ag obair còmhla feumaidh sinn an clàr-gnothaich dùbhlanach seo a thoirt air adhart agus dèiligeadh ri cùisean gus am bi nàdar a’ leantainn na phàirt dheatamach ann an Alba a tha soirbheachail is fallain.

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One Scotland, the Scottish Government’s programme for Scotland 2014 – 2015 highlights social justice through ‘prosperity, participation and fairness’ with a focus on success through delivering a strong economy and supporting a fairer society. The Scottish Government’s draft budget for 2015 – 2016 states that it will:

‘continue to protect and enhance our world class environment. We will maintain our efforts to halt the loss of biodiversity and to restore and enhance our ecosystems. We will invest in our natural resources, focusing on optimising the way that we use our land resources and ensuring that their role in health and wellbeing and in supporting Scotland’s economy is fully recognised and taken into account.’

These aims are the basis of our Corporate Plan.

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IntroductionThis Plan describes how, from 2015 through to 2018, we shall support the Programme for Government and implement our Corporate Strategy vision, that Scotland’s natural capital generates wealth for all, sustaining us and improving our health, lifestyles and culture. In doing so, we shall play our full part in delivering the Scottish Government’s purpose of creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.

Scotland’s public services – nationally and locally – are increasingly focused on working together to tackle fewer, larger, shared challenges: securing economic recovery and growth; increasing employment and reducing youth unemployment; giving young children the best possible start in life; building safer and stronger communities and reducing offending; tackling health inequalities and increasing physical activity; and improving outcomes for older people. Public bodies must collaborate, achieve better engagement and promote early intervention and prevention. This will improve people’s lives and their sense of social and environmental justice by addressing the inequalities that exist within populations and between areas.

So, how do Scotland’s nature and landscapes help to address these challenges?

All of our wildlife, geology, landscapes, seascapes and ecosystems constitutes Scotland’s natural capital. Our natural capital defines the character of Scotland and can be a sustainable economic, environmental and social resource for the nation. There is growing evidence that it supports a wide range of benefits (see The Natural Environment and Us) that are vital to solving the shared challenges.

People value nature both for its own sake and for the benefits derived from it. For many people, a strong connection with nature is part of their understanding of the world. At the same time, the whole of human history is characterised by people shaping nature to their own advantage. In the long run, nature and landscapes will best be protected where they are popular, seen as relevant to everyday concerns and central to decision-making across society.

Scotland’s natural capital plays an important role in supporting economic growth, improving people’s health and wellbeing, adapting to climate change and strengthening communities. This is reflected in Scottish Government policies, including the Government Economic Strategy, Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, National Planning Framework 3, Scottish Planning Policy, Land Use Strategy, Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme, marine planning, Equally Well and A More Active Scotland.

Whilst our natural assets already provide a wide range of benefits, investing in their health and resilience generates more benefits for more people. We shall work with a wide range of partners to

– get the most from nature by improving the public benefits generated by the sustainable use of Scotland’s natural capital; and

– improve the health and resilience of natural assets so that they can support more public benefits now and in the future.

This assets-based approach builds on what we have and is the essence of the 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity.

We believe that this focus will help us – and Scotland’s natural assets – to make an even stronger contribution to the Scottish Government’s purpose and the Programme for Government. This approach will secure greater alignment of objectives for the environment, land management, social and economic sectors.

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http://www.gov.scot/About/Performance/programme-for-government

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Economy/EconomicStrategy

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/Wildlife-Habitats/biodiversity/BiodiversityStrategy

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/Wildlife-Habitats/biodiversity/BiodiversityStrategy

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/NPF3-SPP-Review/NPF3

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/NPF3-SPP-Review/NPF3

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/archive/National-Planning-Policy/newSPP

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/Countryside/Landusestrategy

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/Countryside/Landusestrategy

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/adaptation/AdaptationProgramme

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/adaptation/AdaptationProgramme

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/seamanagement

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/Healthy-Living/Health-Inequalities/Equally-Well

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/Sport/MajorEvents/Glasgow-2014/Commonwealth-games/Indicators/PAIP

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/Sport/MajorEvents/Glasgow-2014/Commonwealth-games/Indicators/PAIP

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0042/00425276.pdf

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0042/00425276.pdf


e.g.Crops and livestockBiomass energyCarbon storageWalkingHorse ridingBird watching

e.g.Wind and wave powerCommercial fishingCarbon storageSailing and boatingTransport

e.g.TimberWood fuelCarbon storageWalking and cyclingMushroomsWildlife watching

e.g.Fish farmingWind powerCarbon storageBoatingSwimmingPlayingCoastal protection

e.g.Drinking waterHydro electricityCarbon storageKayakingSwimmingFishingWhisky

e.g.Gardens and allotmentsOrchardsWater qualityAir qualityWalking and cyclingRunningPlaying

e.g.Wind powerWild venison and grouseCarbon storageHillwalkingSkiingBird watchingWildlife tourism

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Freshwaterecosystems

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Farmlandecosystems

Marine ecosystems

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The natural environment and us

Food and drink

Energy

Drinking water

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Recreation and amenity

Landscape and seascape

Physical and mental health

Education and art

Pollution, dilutionand detoxification

Flood regulation

PollinationClimate regulation

Products Culture and quality of lifeA clean and healthy environment

Many of the things we need to flourish rely on the quality and abundance of nature and natural resources. This diagram illustrates just some of the benefits (ecosystem services) we get from nature in Scotland.

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Who we are, what we doEstablished in 1992 by an Act of Parliament, since 1999 we have been responsible, through Ministers, to the Scottish Parliament, and are funded by the Scottish Government. Our core purposes, as stated in our Corporate Strategy, are to

– secure the conservation and enhancement of nature and landscapes;

– foster their understanding and facilitate their enjoyment; and

– promote their sustainable use and management.

We do this firstly by providing advice to Scottish Ministers and Local Authorities. We also work in partnership with others in the public, private and voluntary sectors to help secure the enhancement of, and benefits from, our natural assets for society.

In August 2010 we merged with the Deer Commission for Scotland, reinforcing our purposes to also secure sustainable wildlife management in Scotland.

Our vision

Our vision defines what we want to achieve, and ensures that all of us understand how our work contributes towards achieving our long-term objectives.

Our vision is: ‘People value Scotland’s natural assets because they generate benefits for all, sustaining us and improving our economy, health, lifestyles and culture.’

The vision reflects the fact that SNH must work in partnership with others to achieve our statutory purpose of conserving and enhancing Scotland’s natural heritage.

Our mission

Our mission states our purpose, including what, where and how we work. It gives us the context for decision-making about our work and helps us prioritise our resources.

Our mission is:‘SNH is the leading organisation in Scotland that seeks to inspire, enthuse and influence others to manage our natural resources sustainably.’

Our organisational values

The value statements guide the expected behaviours of all of us as we deliver our work within SNH and with our partners. They are:

– we do what we say we’ll do;

– we communicate clearly and honestly;

– we take the initiative and are willing to adapt;

– we listen to and respect others’ views;

– we treat everyone with dignity and respect;

– we encourage people to deliver their best; and

– we work together and learn from each other.

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Working with our partners, we shall help to address the wider challenges outlined in the introduction. In doing so, we shall especially support delivery of the following National Outcomes in Scotland Performs

1 We live in a Scotland that is the most attractive place for doing business in Europe

6 We live longer, healthier lives

10 We live in well-designed, sustainable places where we are able to access the amenities and services we need

11 We have strong, resilient and supportive communities where people take responsibility for their own actions and how they affect others

12 We value and enjoy our built and natural environment and protect it and enhance it for future generations

14 We reduce the local and global environmental impact of our consumption and production

16 Our public services are high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to local people’s needs

Supporting the Scottish Government’s purpose

Aspects of the National Performance Framework are currently under review, including the national indicators and purpose targets. We shall respond to this after the results are available in autumn 2015.

For example…

… the health of ecosystems underpins their ability to support a range of National Outcomes. Protecting and enhancing local habitats and landscapes through positive management helps people to value and enjoy nature in their neighbourhoods. A high-quality environment makes a direct contribution to everyone’s quality of life and increases the viability of primary industries such as farming, forestry and fisheries. It can also enhance mental health and wellbeing. Volunteering to carry out this work helps to build stronger communities and develop individuals’ skills. The physical activity involved also contributes to health outcomes and high-quality local environments encourage more visits to the outdoors and provide incentives for inward investment. Good-quality nature and landscapes also provide a local curriculum resource for schools. As these outcomes emerge, so they also reinforce other outcomes in tourism, enterprise and health.

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Our aims and objectives, together with those of others across the public, private and voluntary sectors, combine to deliver the Scottish Government’s National Outcomes. Outcomes emerge from many direct and indirect actions; they are not ‘delivered’ through simple discrete outputs. It is not a simple matter to link the contribution of a single activity or objective to an outcome or outcomes.

A successful, flourishing Scotland

GreenerSafer and stronger Healthier

Smarter Wealthier and fairer

Caring for the natural world

Delivering a high-quality

public service

Enriching people’s iives

Promoting sustainable economic growth

Diagram to show some of the main ways in which our four portfolios (see Organising our work) contribute to the Scottish Government’s five strategic objectives and purpose.

http://www.gov.scot/About/Performance/scotPerforms/outcome


‘A relevant environmental health agenda for the 21st century is as much about the creation of places which engender good physical and mental health, as it is about protection from hazards.’ (Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, 2006)

‘Scotland is defined very much by its nature and this is reflected in a wealth of references to nature in our literature and rich cultural heritage…. We must respect the intrinsic appeal of nature too, because where we lose species or natural habitats we are diminished as a nation and our nature is the poorer. Reversing such changes and restoring nature is a challenge, but it is a hugely rewarding feat.’ (Ministerial Foreword, 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity)

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During 2015 – 2018 we shall respond strongly and positively to a wide range of drivers. As a public body we

– respond to changes in our operating environment (defined by our resources together with the Scottish Government’s priorities and associated change in policy and public service delivery);

– continue to improve our understanding of trends and changes in our natural assets, likely causes and the potential social, economic and environmental consequences; and

– work in partnership with others to establish a shared understanding of problems and identify outcomes and solutions to achieve them.

Public service reform follows the 2011 report of the Christie Commission expressed in terms of four key factors – people, prevention, partnership and performance – and involving communities in the design and delivery of services. The Programme for Government develops this through prosperity, participation and fairness. SNH will focus on the following areas:

– We will lead on the 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity, act as a delivery partner for the Scottish Rural Development Programme and contribute to the development of the Plant Health Strategy – safeguarding agriculture, horticulture, forestry and the wider environment from pests and diseases. Reinforcing an emphasis on physical activity and health, we welcome the focus on increased levels of participation through the More Active Scotland agenda and the scope of Good Food Nation to include the environmental and health consequences of what we buy, serve and eat.

– On wildlife management we will support deer management groups to achieve the sustainable management of deer, and we will tackle wildlife crime as part of the Partnership Against Wildlife Crime. We will advise on the management of wild fisheries and the new Bill.

– We will help to implement the National Marine Plan, advise on the identification and management of protected areas in the marine environment and obtain and share data on the marine environment.

– In addition to management, the system and structure of land ownership and associated rights are significant factors in social justice, environmental sustainability and economic success for Scotland. The proposed new Land Reform Bill is expected to bring opportunities in terms of sustainable management of deer, public access, sharing data, community involvement and maximising the role of publicly owned land. We welcome the framework that the Land Use Strategy provides to develop and implement shared land management and biodiversity objectives, through collaborative approaches, at a landscape scale. We will contribute to its review and implementation.

– We will continue to focus on better regulation, including reform of the planning system and the new Regulators Code.

– We will continue to play our role in helping to deliver the Scottish Government’s renewables target and associated developments onshore and offshore.

– We will maximise the contribution we make to improving people’s health and wellbeing through preventative spend and delivering the

Emerging political and environmental priorities

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http://www.scotland.gov.uk/resource/doc/352649/0118638.pdf


2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity. The proposed ERDF green infrastructure scheme will also help to deliver better greenspace close to deprived areas. This will be complemented by a LIFE+ project on improving ecological coherence, further work to strengthen strategic routes for walking and cycling and landscape partnership projects. We will continue to progress initiatives in partnership with others such as the NHS greenspace demonstration project and green exercise.

– We will continue to work with Community Planning Partners and welcome the emphasis in the Programme for Government on people and place (neighbourhoods). The provisions of the Community Empowerment Bill, once enacted, will

frame our work with communities.

– We will work with others to support the work of the Rural Parliament, help to implement the Islands Act and achieve the Scottish Government’s aim of making our activities relevant and accessible to island communities.

– We will continue to move towards more efficient ways of working across Scottish Government and public services more generally, including, for example, meeting the requirements of Digital Scotland and Audit Scotland requirements on workforce planning.

While the main focus of our work is within Scotland, the environmental issues we are involved with have

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a wider international context. Globally, continuing loss of biodiversity and climate change remain significant concerns, and Scotland is a signatory to action on international treaties for biodiversity (Aichi Targets) and climate change (Kyoto Protocol). We will continue to support the UK Joint Nature Conservation Committee, particularly at the European level, to ensure that we are well aligned with these wider agendas, and share our practical experiences to help shape them.

During the Corporate Plan period, all of the above is set in the context of elections to the UK and Scottish Parliaments in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The Plan is intended to provide a basis for addressing any consequential changes to policies and associated resource deployments.


We must be able to accommodate the drivers described in previous pages and other changes we cannot yet foresee.

In recent years, we have responded to resource constraints by becoming ‘smaller, smarter and more influential’. Smaller has been about responding successfully to the challenge of working with fewer of our own resources. Smarter has involved both using our information and knowledge as effectively as we can and working smartly so that we are efficient and make the best use of available resources. More influential is about having good evidence, good people skills, helping to find solutions, building relationships and allies, and providing information to the right people at the right time. While this Plan assumes similar resources in each of the Plan years, these principles are still relevant.

Looking ahead, we must ensure that we finance and undertake the activities that best serve people, nature and landscapes in Scotland, matched to available resources. Generally, this requires us to work closely with and through others. We must establish a shared understanding of issues and the desired outcomes of our work.

To understand trends and changes in natural capital and the health of our ecosystems, as well as likely causes and potential social, economic and environmental consequences, we need to ask:

– What are the main changes taking place in Scotland’s natural capital?

– What factors are causing them? – What are the potential consequences of these

changes? – What action is most important, and where?

These drivers and this assessment have important

Becoming smaller, smarter and more influentialimplications for how we work, what we work on and the balance of our effort overall. Many are complex and in some we are bound by legislation. Over the Corporate Plan period, our approach will include:

– Working with people. Everything we do requires us to work with people. As an organisation, SNH must therefore be concerned at least as much with people and behaviour change as we are with nature. This requires a change in our skill set, which we are taking forward through our Workforce Plan.

– Linking people and nature. Nature is wonderful and important for all of Scotland’s people, but it is out of reach for many. We must increase the opportunities that people have to experience and enjoy nature close to where they live. Our approaches and investment should enable us to focus on communities experiencing multiple deprivation characterised by, for example, high rates of unemployment, low educational achievement, poor diet and health, low life expectancy, low aspirations, limited life choices and poor-quality local environments – often localised and more acute in our urban areas.

– New ways of working. Our resources go further when we work in partnership towards shared outcomes and use new sources of funding and other resources. We will need to access new skills, for example in fund-raising, commercial contracts and social enterprise.

– As a national body delivering a local service, we must work with people to establish how national conservation priorities best fit with local need, taking account of fairness and prosperity. Our role includes advising on national impacts in development planning and responding to local

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needs through Community Planning. We will seek a better understanding of the values that people and communities attach to natural assets in different situations, supporting the development of solutions for particular local circumstances.

– Finding solutions to competing objectives for nature by working with decision-makers at a more strategic level. Two examples are: renewable energy developments that help to address climate change but bring with them nature or landscape implications; and where management requirements for certain species or habitats are in conflict.

– Maintaining our efforts to avoid duplication and improve alignment as resources tighten across public services. This means sharing organisational assets (services such as information technology, finance and human resources, as well as vehicles, buildings and desk space) and making sure that we are strategically and operationally aligned. We welcome and support the recent Scottish Government proposal to establish a non-statutory Rural, Agriculture, Food and Environment (RAFE) Delivery Board to drive alignment and joint delivery along these broad lines.

– Making sure that decisions rest on good information and evidence, whilst recognising the relative paucity of data that must underpin some decisions. Some surveillance and monitoring is expensive and we need to be sure that this is justified and proportionate. One example of this would be how best we and others work with Marine Scotland on potentially very costly survey and monitoring of the marine environment. We also work with volunteers and others through ‘citizen science’ to gather valuable information that helps inform decisions.

– Influencing land use so that resource management better reflects the natural assets on which it depends and the range of public benefits that can be derived from them. For example, the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) is the principal means to improve nature through land management both within and outwith protected areas. However, entry to the scheme is voluntary and the measures implemented on farms can be short lived. Significant impacts on land management flow from the much larger spend on the so-called ‘Pillar 1’ of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). We will be working with partners to support the Scottish Government mid-term review of the CAP and implementation of the SRDP.

– Tackling the appropriate drivers of biodiversity loss. Current legislation gives SNH a strong locus in advising on development planning. Built development is an important component of landscape change, but it is not the most important driver of biodiversity loss. A strong plan-led approach to development builds nature values into development decisions, works with the grain of the local environment and landscape and, where necessary, can achieve good compensation for any loss. But for biodiversity, we must address the principal drivers of loss (over-use of natural resources, land use change, diffuse pollution, invasive non-native species) and underlying factors more directly (such as lack of contact with nature).

– Increasingly, strategy and policy looks to sustaining or increasing the public benefits from nature. However, legislation and past strategy have tended to focus on rare and threatened species or ‘priority’ habitats. We must consider how best to move from where we are, to action addressing more of a ‘whole countryside’ and

‘wider seas’ approach with a focus on ecosystems and the benefits that we all derive from them. This is the ‘ecosystem approach’, which involves the integrated management of land, water and living resources and promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. The approach takes account of how nature works, and the benefits that nature provides to people and involves people in decision-making.

– Our approach to protected areas must take account of the consequences of a changing climate and other land use and work to secure the widest range of benefits to society.

Whilst these issues might be perceived as challenging, at the same time they present big opportunities to improve our use of public resources, prevent long-term costs, engage with new audiences, generate greater public value and improve nature and landscapes across a wider front.

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This Corporate Plan sets out how we will work with others to

– get the most from nature by improving the public benefits generated by the sustainable use of Scotland’s natural capital; and

– improve the health and resilience of natural assets so that they can support more public benefits now and in the future.

Our purpose is to work with the people of Scotland to help look after and improve Scotland’s natural capital and enhance the quality of, and access to, the benefits it provides. The Natural Environment and Us summarises these benefits in a schematic diagram. As a public body delivering a service for Scotland’s people, we must be efficient in how we use resources. We have particular responsibilities for certain public benefits that nature provides: its diversity of wildlife; its amenity, natural beauty and consequent recreational benefits and its scientific interest.

We divide our work into four interdependent portfolios: – Caring for the natural world; – Enriching people’s lives; – Promoting sustainable economic growth; – Delivering a high-quality public service.

Caring for the natural world produces social benefits (enriching people’s lives) and economic ones (promoting sustainable economic growth) – and all of our work is supported by the way we organise ourselves, manage data and information, communicate and make decisions (delivering a high-quality public service). Delivering a high-quality public service reflects the expectations of corporate governance required of a public body, as well as the support for the delivery of our services. However, in practice most of our work straddles more than one portfolio, reflecting the real world and encouraging collaboration.

Outcomes and prioritiesIt is important that we are able to demonstrate how our work supports delivery of the National Outcomes (see Supporting the Scottish Government’s Purpose) and relates to wider priorities, rather than believing we can ‘deliver’ nature and landscapes or benefits from them in isolation.

We have identified distinct areas of work that we expect will be the focus of our investment and these are listed more fully in the following sections. In taking these forward, we will work to secure multiple benefits from and between them.

Throughout the Plan we have emphasised the need to work effectively with and through others. This will increasingly influence our planning and the way in which we allocate resources. Scottish Government requires ever-closer working between organisations, and in the following sections we have signalled other public bodies with whom we need to plan jointly. In most cases this work involves a host of private and voluntary bodies too, but for brevity we have not listed them.

Glossary of public sector business planning partners

COSLA Convention of Scottish Local AuthoritiesCNPA Cairngorm National Park AuthorityFCS Forestry Commission ScotlandHIE Highlands and Islands EnterpriseIS Improvement ServiceJNCC Joint Nature Conservation CommitteeLA Local AuthoritiesLLTNPA Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park AuthorityNHS National Health Service ScotlandSC Scottish CanalsSE Scottish EnterpriseSEPA Scottish Environment Protection AgencySLAB Scottish Legal Aid BoardVS VisitScotland

SG Scottish GovernmentAS Active ScotlandES Education ScotlandMS Marine Scotland SG-AFRC Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities DirectorateSG-DECC Directorate of Energy and Climate ChangeSG-DPEA Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals

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Outcome: to maintain and, where possible, improve the condition of natural assets where it is most needed so that ecosystems continue to support community wellbeing and economic success.

Get the most from nature by:

– Working with others and engaging the public to build and maintain the evidence base that supports our advice. We will monitor and survey natural assets so that we can report on how nature is doing. This includes developing measures of ecosystem health and assessing the condition of protected areas; developing a habitat map for Scotland to inform strategies for nature; and gaining a better understanding of how climate and other environmental changes are affecting biodiversity. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, MS, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

– Continuing to develop our understanding of the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystems. Implementing measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (mitigation) and guiding adaptation so that nature can, as far as possible, adapt to a changing climate, and so that people can make best use of natural processes in preparing for climate change. (All)

– Working with partners to take better account of the services that ecosystems provide, so that nature and landscapes continue to provide benefits for people and that these can be incorporated into national accounting and reporting systems. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, MS, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

– Involving people so that together we improve

Organising our work – Caring for the natural worldour knowledge of biodiversity and the natural world and our understanding of, and changes in, behaviours towards nature (sometimes called ‘citizen science’). (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, SEPA)

– Maximising the benefits from our protected areas to take account of a changing climate, the Land Use Strategy and the 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity. We will develop this with interested parties so as to secure the widest range of public benefits from our resources overall (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

Improving Scotland’s natural assets by:

– Helping to reduce the pressures on ecosystems and so to increase the resilience of our most vulnerable and valued wildlife by making space for natural processes for example, by creating opportunities for species to disperse by improving habitat connectivity and, as far as possible, allowing coasts and rivers to flood and taking a planned adaptive approach. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

– Leading a wide range of organisations to implement the action plan (or ‘route map’) for the 2020 Challenge for Biodiversity and thereby tackling the most important drivers of biodiversity loss (p11). (All)

– Trialling new approaches at a landscape scale in National Parks on sustainable moorland management, native woodland expansion, peatland restoration and species conservation. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, SEPA)

– Improving the condition of sites protected for nature, so that they contribute to ecosystem health in key catchments, and focusing effort to help

deliver the EU2020 target of restoring at least 15% of degraded ecosystems. (FCS, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

– Leading conservation effort on key species such as red squirrel, sea eagle and freshwater pearl mussel – although we expect the emphasis on single species management to decline as the ecosystem approach develops or, where necessary, for such a focus to be embedded in a broader ecosystem approach. (FCS, MS, SEPA).

– Helping the Scottish Government to develop Marine Protected Areas, including marine Natura sites, and contributing to a framework to manage Scotland’s seas to achieve the Scottish Government’s vision of ‘clean, healthy, safe, productive and diverse seas; managed to meet the long-term needs of nature and people’ and contributing to the ‘good environmental status’ of the Celtic Seas and Greater North Sea. (JNCC, MS, SEPA, SG)

– Supporting the Scottish Rural Development Programme as a delivery partner, so that it sustains natural assets and delivers public benefits from the Common Agricultural Policy overall. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

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Outcome: to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities by creating better places for people and nature and helping a wider range of people to experience, enjoy and help look after nature and landscapes.


– Helping a wider range of people to participate in outdoor recreation and physical activity. We will focus our investment on physical and mental health-related projects in partnership with the health sector; on opportunities for young people, people on low incomes, people in poor health and people who are experiencing exclusion; and in areas where people are less likely to experience nature and landscapes at first hand. We will work with partners to promote Scotland’s access rights and responsibilities and to improve related online information. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, NHS, SG-AS)

– Helping people to enjoy and understand nature at first hand through volunteering and outdoor learning. We will focus on helping to improve places for people and nature, particularly close to more deprived areas; on helping young people from our target groups to learn outdoors; and on helping to build the knowledge, skills, confidence and employability of young people. (CNPA, ES, FCS, LLTNPA)

– Operating our own National Nature Reserves to enhance some of the best of Scotland’s nature that everyone can enjoy and helping us to connect with nature. We will do this in a way that supports improving ecosystem health, enthuses our target groups about nature and provides a positive visitor experience.

Organising our work – Enriching people’s lives – Helping communities to become stronger

and more resilient by connecting with issues that relate to nature and landscapes. We will do this by providing support, building capacity and developing leaders within our target groups and areas. We will also work with Community Planning Partnerships to help make the most of nature’s contribution to local social and economic priorities. (CNPA, COSLA, FCS, IS, LA, LLTNPA, SEPA)


– Improving the quality and accessibility of greenspaces and green networks in urban areas, particularly in more deprived areas. If successful, we will lead delivery of the European Green Infrastructure scheme and support the Central Scotland Green Network. (FCS, LA, NHS, SG)

– Leading a partnership to develop and implement an action plan to deliver the National Walking & Cycling Network, one of the national developments in the National Planning Framework 3. (CNPA, FCS, LA, LLTNPA, SC, SG-AFRC, VS)

– Enhancing the condition and management of Scotland’s landscapes and places, particularly in National Scenic Areas, National Nature Reserves, and areas of wild land, and through Landscape Partnerships. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA)

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Outcome: to generate economic benefits from the sustainable management of natural assets.


– Promoting management approaches that deliver multiple benefits in line with the Land Use Strategy and marine planning. Important challenges include: water quality and flood management in priority catchments; coastal erosion especially where natural defences have been degraded; CAP and the wider public benefits associated with food and drink production; and nature in protected areas and surrounding land and sea. (FCS, MS, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

– Delivering better regulation. We will perform our regulatory functions in ways that help the people who need them, are proportionate and focus on solutions. When providing advice to help decision-makers such as the Minister and Local Authorities in the Planning System, we will help them to make good decisions, making sure that the right development occurs in the right place. We will focus on providing advice on developments that raise matters of national interest and support the plan-led approach. (MS, SEPA, SG-DECC, SG-DPEA)

– Providing advice to help decision-makers and other stakeholders on renewable energy. (MS, SEPA, SG-DECC, SG-DPEA)

– Supporting the promotion of Scotland as a tourism destination based on the quality of its natural assets. Our priorities include promoting the benefits of Scotland’s outdoor access, using opportunities available in remote rural areas and protected places, such as National Nature Reserves and Scotland’s great trails, and

Organising our work – Promoting sustainable economic growthdelivering the Marine Tourism Strategy. (HIE, MS, SE, VS)

– Working with fishing, deer management and other wild food interests to secure a lasting impact from Scotland’s Year of Food & Drink 2015 – 2016. (FCS, MS, SE, SG-AFRC, VS)


– Establishing demonstration sites and case studies to show how an ecosystems approach can enhance resilience and offer long-term solutions to current issues. (FCS, LA, MS, SEPA)

– Leading work to improve the resilience of our natural assets and their capacity to sustain us. We will promote management to reduce carbon loss and increase the amount of carbon stored in vegetation and soils to contribute to Scottish Government’s climate change targets. We will focus our work on the EU2020 15% ecosystem restoration target on drained or damaged peat-forming habitats and on increasing Scotland’s forest cover and identifying marine and coastal carbon sinks and activities that affect them. (FCS, MS, SEPA)

– Leading work to resolve competing priorities in wildlife management so that species are managed more sustainably. We will work in areas where these are most acute to promote good practice and to develop better ways of working together; notable examples include geese, challenging issues of predation and moorland management. As with management of species for conservation, we would expect our emphasis on single species management to decline as the ecosystem approach becomes adopted more widely. (CNPA, SG-AFRC)

– Leading improvements in wildlife management practices – particularly in the management of deer by supporting delivery of the vision for Scotland’s wild deer, and fisheries – to ease pressures on nature and to reflect our changing climate. A priority is to help tackle wildlife crime. We will help to shape the management of wild fisheries and the new Bill. (FCS, MS, SG)

– Leading the delivery of the LIFE+ ecological coherence project, which seeks to improve connections between habitats in central Scotland. (FCS, LLTNPA, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

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Outcome: to be a well-run organisation, delivering a high-quality public service focused on the needs of our customers, to improve our services and to make sure that every public pound is spent wisely thereby helping to free up resources to invest in Scotland’s natural assets and the benefits they support.


– Providing easy access to information about nature, through facilities such as our website, SNHi, Scotland’s Environment Web and the National Biodiversity Network and by adopting high standards of knowledge and information management. In doing so, we will align our work with the implementation of the Scottish Government Digital Strategy. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, MS, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

– Making the most of our assets, such as buildings, vehicles, electronic equipment, by working more closely with our partners. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, MS, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

– Maintaining our capacity to work at a local level using appropriate new technologies and sharing services and resources with our partners. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, MS, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

– Engaging and communicating with people and organisations throughout the country about Scotland’s nature and landscapes and their value. We will use a range of ways to do so, in both English and Gaelic, including our corporate website, social media and media relations and through partnerships with other organisations.We will improve staff deployment to make better

Organising our work – Delivering a high-quality public serviceuse of our resources, putting in place the policies and processes to deploy our staff and develop the skills needed to support the organisation’s aims, objectives and way of working. (CNPA, FCS, LLTNPA, MS, SE, SEPA, SLAB, SG-AFRC, VS)


– Meeting the expectations on SNH to deliver a high-quality public service as efficiently as possible, by reducing our running costs. We will make it easier for people and organisations to work with SNH and ensure that our systems and processes are efficient, cost effective and easy to use. Wherever possible we will encourage our contractors to pay at least a living wage, we will report publicly on our employee relations, work to encourage an equal gender balance on our Board, and promote the fairness agenda and our public equalities duties through our relations with all partners and with our own staff. (CNPA, FCS, LA, LLTNPA, MS, SEPA, SG-AFRC)

– Reducing our carbon footprint. We will deliver on our Low Carbon Vision and contribute to the Scottish Government’s target to cut emissions by 80% by 2050 and adapt to climate change. (CNPA, FCS, LA, LLTNPA, MS, NHS, SEPA, SG-DECC)

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This Corporate Plan is presented in terms that are sufficiently flexible to accommodate the uncertainties in resource planning outlined under emerging political and environmental priorities, including shifts in priority arising from the elections to the UK Parliament in 2015 and the Scottish Parliament in 2016.

A planning projection of no change in our grant-in-aid (‘flat-cash’ of £53.1m each year for the Corporate Plan period) has been adopted, recognising that public expenditure decisions for the later years have not yet been made.

In Figure 1 we show the current distribution of effort to secure the best possible outcomes across the four portfolios. It represents a starting point from which we re-balance effort during the Plan period. Delivering a high quality public service occupies the inner circle because it supports all of the others, for example enabling us to manage the data, information and evidence to support our advice to Ministers. It also includes workforce planning, which is about improving the way we deploy our staff resource and retaining, developing and attracting people with the right skills.

In the Table on the following page we present indicative allocations for expenditure across the four portfolios over the Plan period. This shows how we plan to adjust the balance of our work. Because existing commitments are already pressing in year one, there is (currently) more scope to re-balance our effort in years two and three of the Plan. More specific allocations detailed by activity within each portfolio are presented in our annual business plans.

Indicative spend by portfolio

page 18


Notes1. We continue to explore other funding streams beyond grant-in-aid, both from Scottish Government and beyond.

Enriching people’s lives is particularly focused on levering European Funding (ERDF) towards Green Infrastructure. The total investment represents £36m over the next 6 years. Where we already know the value of these other funds they have been shown above (see Additional (grant-in-aid) income, which currently includes peatland restoration moving to SRDP from 2015) and we plan to grow these sources where possible.

2. Depreciation and impairment is a non-cash item. We expect this to be somewhat lower, but until the figure is agreed we have preserved the published figures; this change would not release more funds for expenditure.

Indicative allocations across the four portfolios combining staff time and project spend are:

Figure 1. Pie chart showing the current distribution of effort across the four portfolios, in proportion. Arrows show indicative direction of resource allocations.

Biodiversity Monitoring and Advice

Marine Management

Protected Areas

Scottish Rural Development Programme

Creating Better Places

Increasing Participation

Managing National Nature Reserves

Wildlife Management

Planning and Development

Natural Resource Management

Climate Change

Asset Management

People Management

Finance Management

Corporate Governance

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Prom

otin

g su

stai

nabl

e ec

onom

ic growth

Enriching people’s lives

Caring for the natural worl

d

Del

iverin

g a high-quality public service

Project and paybill spend (£m)

2014–2015 2015–2016 2016–2017 2017–2018

Caring for the natural world 8.8 8.5 8.5 8.6

Enriching people’s lives 8.0 8.3 8.7 8.9

Promoting sustainable economic growth 11.9 12.3 12.0 11.8

Delivering a high-quality public service 16.9 16.8 16.7 16.6

Total project and paybill 45.6 45.9 45.9 45.9

Project funding 19.6 20.1 20.1 20.1

Paybill 26.0 25.8 25.8 25.8

JNCC contribution 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4

SRDP 1.8 1.5 1.5 1.5

Depreciation and impairment 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1

Capital 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

Total grant-in-aid 53.1 53.1 53.1 53.1

Additional (grant-in-aid) income 5.7 1.0 0.4 0.4

Total available funds 58.8 54.1 53.5 53.5

Por

tfol

io


Our Outcome Measures are intended to summarise the evidence informing progress towards our portfolio outcomes. These will form the basis of reporting our progress, for example to Scottish Government, over the Plan period.

Where appropriate, we use existing National Indicators from the National Performance Framework (NPF) for this purpose. During the Plan period we shall accommodate changes to the environmental indicators in the NPF because they are a focal point for the current review of the framework. The review is expected to be completed by autumn 2015.

The additional high-level measures listed below are intended to complement the National Indicators. In our annual business plans these will be supported by measures of success: more detailed outputs and deliverables informing assessments of progress.

Our outcome measures focus on ‘state’. An element of judgement, negotiated with others, will be required to establish levels of concern and required action. While the outcomes are mainly beyond our scope to ‘deliver’ them, they remain the focal point for what we do. Only by working with others, as outlined in this Plan, can we contribute to the positive outcomes we want to see.

Caring for the natural world – Contribute to an effective network of

protected nature sites by maintaining and improving their condition, having regard to their potential contribution to wider ecosystem health and functionality

– Improve understanding of, and action to, address declines in Scotland’s terrestrial breeding birds

Outcome Measures

page 20

– Restore peatlands, native woodlands and freshwaters in line with Scotland’s Biodiversity – a Route Map to 2020

– Contribute to clean, healthy, safe, productive and diverse seas

– Develop and apply a set of measures of ecosystem health to help inform steps required to maintain and/or enhance their health

Enriching people’s lives – Encourage an increase in weekly visits to the

outdoors for our target groups (young people, people living in the 15% most deprived areas, people with poor health or people experiencing exclusion)

– Improve the quality and increase the extent of accessible, well-managed greenspace in urban areas, especially for people living in the 15% most deprived areas

– Increase the percentage of adults who are engaging with environmental issues

– Increase the number of community planning partnerships whose activities reflect the benefits of nature for people

Promoting sustainable economic growth – Maintain or enhance natural capital as

measured by the Natural Capital Asset Index – Engage proactively with developers and

planning authorities to help ensure that the right developments are in the right places

– Increase the wider public benefits associated with the management of wildlife resources

– Reduce the loss of public benefits associated with invasive non-native species and, where necessary, be more effective in controlling them

Delivering a high-quality public service – Continue to reduce carbon emissions in line

with an 80% reduction by 2050 – Engage effectively with other national and

local partners, especially through the Rural Affairs, Food and Environment Delivery Board, to align joint working to the National Outcomes

– Share more services (accommodation, data management, information technology and operational services) with other public bodies

– Show progress to creating a multi-skilled, flexible workforce to improve the delivery of the Corporate Plan outcomes

– Improve the management and accessibility of natural heritage and internal business information

– Raise awareness of the benefits and services supported by nature and landscapes and the practices required to sustain them


PhotographyAll images by Lorne Gill/SNH, except p1 (left) John Paul Photography/SNH; p1 (right), p10, p17 Beckyduncanphotographyltd/SNH; p2, p13 Chris Gomersall/2020VISION; p8 Lorne Gill/2020VISION; p16 George Logan/SNH

ISBN 978-1-78391-306-0

www.snh.gov.uk

Documents

Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba … Plan 2015-18.pdf · Scottish Natural Heritage Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba Corporate Plan Plana Corporra 2015 – 2018