Committee News Release
CENV 003/2003
Tuesday 16 December , 2003
ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE ENDORSES NATURE CONSERVATION BILL
The Environment and Rural
Development Committee today endorsed the general
principles of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill.
The Bill provides improved measures for tackling wildlife crime and species
protection. It also aims to enhance the system of protection for Sites
of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and places a new general duty
on public bodies for the conservation of biodiversity.
Committee Convener Sarah Boyack said:
“
The Bill takes an important step forward in protecting Scotland’s
wonderful natural heritage. Achieving the correct balance between the
needs of land managers and the protection of the natural heritage is
not easy, but our Committee believes that the new framework set out in
the Bill will be a significant improvement.
“
However, along with the Finance Committee, we are concerned that current
budgets may not be able to accommodate the changes that the Bill requires.
Wildlife protection officers, for example, already undertake wildlife
crime duties in addition to existing police work and this Bill could
increase their workload.
“Our Committee welcomes the Bill and recommends that the full Parliament
approves it at the Stage 1 debate on 7 January 2004.”
The proposal for Scottish Ministers to be able to ban the possession of certain
pesticides implicated in poisoning birds of prey is accepted by the Committee.
Free-running snares are agreed with as a legitimate method of pest control, but
the Committee also makes detailed recommendations to improve the operation and
enforcement of these provisions.
The report also contains a number of comments in relation to the detail of the
Bill. These include recommendations that:
- The Bill should provide more protection
for valuable geological heritage such
as fossils.
- Scottish Ministers should report to the Parliament on an annual
basis on the implementation of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy.
- SNH needs to work closely with land managers during the process
of designating SSSI, and all scientific evidence about the designation
of sites should be
available to land managers.
- Scottish Ministers should develop a national legislative code of practice for eco-tourism operators to give greater protection to whales and dolphins, instead of relying on voluntary agreements.
BACKGROUND NOTES
The Bill was introduced on 29 September. The Stage
1 debate is scheduled for 7 January, when the full Parliament will
be asked to agree the
general principles
of the Bill.
Environment and Rural Development, 7th Report, 2003 (Session 2):
Stage 1 Report on the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill
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