Scotland adopted its first National Marine Plan in 2015, with the aim of helping to manage the use of Scotland’s seas in a sustainable way. In 2022 work began to create an updated national marine plan, to better reflect how the sea is currently being used, and to plan for its continued and sustainable future use.
The Scottish Government has now published a Planning Position Statement (PPS) summarising all that work and provides an early opportunity for comment on the proposed policy ideas to be included in the National Marine Plan 2, helping to shape the plan from the outset.
Duncanby Head cliffs in sunset light, northern Scotland
Background
From the Ministerial foreword: In 2022 work began to create an updated national marine plan to better reflect how the sea is currently being used, and to plan for its continued and sustainable future use. Marine planning is a powerful tool for managing multiple use of our seas by bringing together different interests so that decisions about what goes where in our seas can continue to benefit future generations and protect our iconic marine industries who have served Scotland’s economy and people for many decades. Marine planning seeks to balance the needs of people and our environment through informed and evidence based decision-making.
As the intensity and range of human activities continues to increase in response to demand for marine products, energy and transport, managing co-existence in the same shared marine space requires a new approach. Effectively managing how we use our marine space is not only crucial in our transition to net zero but will also help our delivery of national and international biodiversity commitments.
This means taking difficult decisions on the use of our marine space, guided by the need to address the twin crises of climate change and nature loss to foster sustainable growth in the marine economy. In this way, marine planning provides a strong platform for sustainable development of existing and emerging marine sectors. NMP2 will provide a clear direction for the sustainable development of our marine space and create a new planning framework to support future licensing and consenting decisions.
This Planning Position Statement (PPS) is the culmination of our work to date on the development of Scotland’s National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2) and consolidates stakeholder feedback, setting out the latest development of high-level objectives and policy ideas for NMP2, in line with legal requirements and commitments related to Scotland’s seas.
The paper can be read here and the consultation closes on 28 January 2025.