Highly Protected Marine Areas: stakeholder engagement plan

Introduction

This Stakeholder Engagement Plan explains how and when the Scottish Government, NatureScot and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee will engage with stakeholders on the identification and designation of Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in Scotland's seas. It sets out opportunities such as on-line sessions, cross-sectoral workshops and statutory public consultations in which stakeholders can participate and make a meaningful difference.

The introduction of the commitment to designate at least 10% of our seas as HPMAs by 2026 will impact a number of human activities and raise issues for a range of different stakeholders and stakeholder groups. Accordingly, our aim throughout is to be fair, transparent and inclusive and to strengthen the process by engaging with stakeholders at all key stages of policy development, site selection, assessment, and designation.

As we progress, this plan may be revised and updated with further information on engagement opportunities. We will communicate specific event details such as dates, locations, timings and signing-up instructions, via the 'Get involved and keep updated' section of the HPMA website. We will also highlight upcoming stakeholder events in our bulletin: if you would like to receive this, please email HPMA@gov.scot and request to be added to our HPMA mailing list.