Biodiversity strategy and delivery plan: approach to impact assessments

Approach to Impact Assessments for Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery Plan

As part of the development of both the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery Plan we have undertaken screening exercises for the required impact assessments. The Tackling the Nature Emergency Consultation also included specific questions with respect to each. Below sets out our approach to each of the Impact Assessments:

• Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) Report was consulted on alongside the consultation document. Feedback on specific questions in the consultation will be addressed in the Post Adoption statement which will be published as soon as reasonably practicable after the publication of the strategy and delivery plan.
• Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment – Scottish Ministers and named public bodies are required to actively consider any inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic impact when making strategic decisions. An initial screening of the SBS has raised potentially positive and negative impacts including: access to affordable housing; access to green space; creation of green jobs. The consultation also sought views on socio-economic impacts which are taken into a Fairer Duty Scotland Assessment which is published alongside the final strategy and delivery plan.
• Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment Business (CRWIA) Scottish Ministers are required to actively consider impacts of any strategies or policies on child rights and well-being. A Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment is also published alongside the final strategy and delivery plan.
• Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) - initial screening and the Biodiversity Strategic Framework consultation identified a number of priority actions in the Delivery Plan that could have an impact on business. Generally these views indicated:
  • A positive impact upon eco-tourism and some green industries. The Green industry sector is predicted to grow, benefiting from the creation of new jobs provided through landscape regeneration and habitat management. Where the creation, restoration and management of habitats provides areas for species to thrive, this is anticipated to bring benefit to tourism in some areas of Scotland.
  • Concern was raised for the traditional sectors, e.g. farming, crofting, fisheries and forestry, where businesses may be impacted by changes to traditional practice and experience an increase in costs and/or regulation. There are also anticipated costs related to the potential need to tackle non-native invasive species to consider, as well as in the provision of specialist knowledge and advice, which may need to be sought through consultancy services. The potential for agricultural reform was recognised as a means to supporting the farming sector in transitioning to nature-friendly practices, as was the need for land owner collaboration to achieve landscape scale nature restoration.

With the SBS being an umbrella strategy, the specific actions are being developed in a variety of policy areas and given the importance of fully understanding business impacts, many actions will be subject to individual BRIAs. Some of which are completed (for example NPF4, Agricultural Bill). others are in development including 30 x 30 and the creation of a New National Park with others anticipated in the next 6-12 months (for example INNS strategy)

At a strategy level it is anticipated that assessment of policy impacts will continue and include some further engagement with some businesses, NGOs, Local Authorities and regulators where we are able to identify strategic opportunities to bring together policy areas that will impact a particular group and can encourage coordination and seek to avoid any potential mismatches between policies through such an approach.

• Initial screening for Equality Impact Assessment and Island Communities Impact Assessment has identified further assessment requirements on the individual actions in the Delivery plan will be necessary as these policies are developed. Again these will be considered alongside policy development.