CAMERAS: Scottish environmental monitoring strategy

Introduction

Definition of environmental monitoring

Monitoring implies regular observations that are intended to record change over the longer term and thereby help develop an understanding of the implications of that change. For the purposes of this strategy, monitoring should also be taken to include surveillance and modelling where modelling is undertaken as part of the process of assessing the condition of the environment. Monitoring is typically planned for a defined purpose, although it also needs to be sufficiently robust and comprehensive to detect unanticipated changes in the environment.

Government direction

The Scottish Government's purpose is 'to focus Government and public services on creating a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth'. This is underpinned by five strategic objectives.

The Scottish Environmental Monitoring Strategy will help to ensure that environmental monitoring provides information to support the delivery of the 'Greener' strategic objective: 'Improving Scotland's natural and built environment and the sustainable use and enjoyment of it'. It will as a consequence also make a contribution to the 'Wealthier' strategic objective.

This strategy is intended to strengthen the collaborative activities and collective priorities of the partners within the broader policy and economic context for Scotland, including the Scottish Government Economic Strategy, Science for Scotland and Innovation for Scotland, which emphasise closer partnership working between the public sector and business.

Link to Scotland's Environment Web

The development of this strategy is linked to another Scottish Government initiative (outside CAMERAS) to develop Scotland's Environment Web. This aims to provide a web platform, initially for public bodies, to present environmental information in an easily accessible manner. It will provide a high-profile access point for information held on the environment across Scotland. Making data available in this way will make it easier for organisations and individuals to be aware of, and exploit, existing monitoring data.