Cromarty Rising

In a policy paper published before Xmas, the Scottish Government set out its arguments highlighting the benefits of Scotland remaining a member of the European Economic Area (EAA). The document, entitled Scotland’s Place in Europe, point 93, states that:

“Scotland has a moral and legal obligation to protect our country’s magnificent natural resources and we remain committed to maintaining, protecting and enhancing our environment. The environment has been an important EU competence, that has allowed Scotland to achieve high levels of pollution control and environmental quality in Scotland and help influence the development of those standards across Europe. A single trading market allows the imposition of high standards across a wide area, allowing better environmental outcomes that benefit society as a whole by removing the pressure to compete in tradable sectors by lowering standards. Although some aspects of EU environmental legislation, such as the Bathing Water and Birds and Habitats Directives, are not included in the EEA agreement, membership of the EEA would require on-going compliance with many existing EU environmental protections. Maintaining, protecting and enhancing Scotland’s environment will be best achieved through on-going co-operation at the European and International levels, and ensuring that future trading arrangements recognise the mutual gain to nations and their citizens from requiring high environmental standards.”

Did anyone else notice the text in red? Compliance with the Birds and Habitats directive are not required to be a member of the EEA. This would therefore imply that both these directives could be dropped – well for the poor dolphins and birds of the Inner Moray Firth, these two directive provide the only protection they have! They provide the legislative requirement for designating it as a protected area. Without it there is nothing. Dolphins themselves are are only a   European Protected Species due to the requirements of the Habitats Directive. Could this be a hint of what is to come – the Scottish Government dropping the environmental legislation they don’t require in order to grease the wheels of industry?

Well, maybe not all by themselves, but what if this is what the UK Government plan? The Scottish Government would rightly not want to created a legislative differential that disadvantaged Scottish businesses. Well, we came across this synopsis from Client Earth:

http://www.clientearth.org/what-happens-to-eu-nature-laws-after-brexit/

The UK government ratified the Bern Convention in 1982. The obligations of the Convention is transposed into national law by means of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981 as amended),Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended). The principal aims of the Convention are to ensure conservation and protection of  wild plant and animal species and their natural habitats (listed in Appendices I and II of the Convention), to increase cooperation between contracting parties, and to regulate the exploitation of those species. (source: JNCC). Sadly – the obligation under the Bern Convention and its transposing legislation are weaker in both substance and enforcement, especially where the Marine Environment is concerned. Sorry to end the year on a downer however, this may be the future. It will no doubt not go unchallenged in the courts – great news if you want to build an offshore wind farm that had been previously kicked out under Judicial Review. Now that would be very attractive to the Scottish Government, we surmise.