National Marine Plan 2: planning position statement

4. High-Level Objectives

4.1 Process To Develop Draft High-level Objectives And Policies For NMP2

Development of draft NMP2 high-level objectives (HLOs) has been informed by the legal requirements set out in the Marine Acts and other existing legislation and strategies (as noted in Section 3). The plan, and therefore its objectives, must be in conformity with the UK MPS and must comply with the requirements of the Marine Acts and have regard to the Marine Strategy developed under the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 (see Annex B).

A set of 12 draft objectives were developed in line with the requirements in the Marine Acts and mapped against the 19 High Level Marine Objectives (HLMOs) set out in the current UK MPS (2011), the 11 Good Environmental Status (GES) descriptors set out in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), and the six Blue Economy Vision Outcomes, to ensure alignment (see Annex B).

The set of 12 draft high-level objectives (see Annex A for previous iteration of draft HLOs) and policy ideas have been subject to review and comment by representatives from across government, marine sectors and non-governmental organisations through an extensive engagement programme from April – August 2024.

4.1.1 Key Feedback

• Objectives cover appropriate issues, including specific needs of island communities.
• Some objectives difficult to separate and should be delivered in tandem, e.g. climate and nature.
• Food production should feature prominently in the objectives.
• Clearer, stronger and more active wording is preferred.
• Wording must align with that of wider, relevant frameworks, including GES descriptors and UK HLMOs.
• Wording should recognise both opportunities and potential trade-offs.
• Too many objectives make implementation challenging.

4.1.2 Proposal

• The number of draft HLOs will be reduced to five to improve plan usability and reduce duplication or incompatibility across other plans and strategies.
• Thematic areas covered by the objectives will align more closely with the duties of Scottish Ministers and requirements under the Marine Acts, specifically:
  • Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
  • Nature
  • Sustainable Marine Economy
  • Accessibility and Wellbeing
  • Implementation
• More “active” and “direct” wording has been incorporated into the updated draft objectives to improve clarity on how they can be delivered. Efforts have been made to ensure alignment of wording with wider strategies.
• Updated draft HLOs do not reference individual sectors as many of the potential actions supported by marine planning are relevant to multiple sectors.
• Updated draft HLOs represent the national-level ambition for what marine planning can do to support sustainable development and use in line with wider strategic outcomes, including those set out in the Blue Economy Vision.
• Policies will be grouped under the most relevant HLO, recognising that some may cut across multiple objectives.

4.2 Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation HLO

4.2.1 Key Feedback

• Require clarification on role of marine planning and decisions in supporting net zero.
• Mixed opinion on if mitigation and adaptation should be two separate objectives.
• Need to give significant weight to global climate emergency. Recognition for the role of nature in supporting climate resilience and adaptation also needed.
• Need to think about proportionality in the application of the objective and supporting policies to different sectors.
• Clearer, stronger and more active wording is preferred.
• Need to integrate mitigation hierarchy.

4.2.2 Proposal

Feedback received highlighted the need for clearer language outlining the role of marine planning when supporting action towards addressing the climate emergency. The wording of the HLO should be clear and concise, recognising that much of the feedback provided was also relevant to the supporting policies too, for example integration of the mitigation hierarchy. The updated wording for the climate change mitigation and adaptation HLO is proposed below:

Mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change in Scotland’s seas.

4.3 Nature HLO

4.3.1 Key Feedback

• Support to merge nature-based objectives to cover protection and restoration, and enhancement.
• Mention of Scottish Biodiversity Strategy is not needed.
• Need to improve consistency in terminology used and use “biodiversity” in the objective.
• Clarity needed on the baseline against which this objective would be measured.
• Recognise the importance of environmental condition in delivering ecosystem services.
• Broad recognition that healthy, resilient ecosystems support climate mitigation and adaptation.

4.3.2 Proposal

There is a need to be clearer and more consistent on the intention of this HLO. The suggestion to consider protection, restoration and enhancement together has been taken into consideration, alongside feedback to streamline the number of overall HLOs. As above, much of the feedback on this HLO is relevant to the supporting policies. The updated wording for the Nature HLO is proposed below:

Protect and enhance Scotland’s marine nature to support functioning and resilient ecosystems.

4.4 Sustainable Marine Economy HLO

4.4.1 Key Feedback

• Clarity needed on the term “multi-use” and suggestions to use “co-existence” instead.
• Suggestions to use “prioritisation” instead of “safeguarding”.
• Consider how best to reflect different sectoral priorities and potential needs for compromise.
• Combine ‘net zero sectors’ and ‘climate mitigation’ HLOs, clarifying the term “net zero sectors”.
• Sustainable marine food production should be clearly reflected in the objective.
• Best evidence must be used to support decisions, and the absence of new evidence should not block development.

4.4.2 Proposal

Scotland’s ambitions for economic growth across marine sectors are set out in the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government and sector-specific strategies and targets, such as the National Strategy for Economy Transformation and forthcoming Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.

NMP2 needs to reflect and support the balance between the many interests in Scotland’s Seas, recognising the importance of the range of sectors in supporting our marine economy. As such, we propose that the Sustainable Marine Economy HLO remain broad enough to capture all sectors; setting out supporting policies for the sustainable use and development of different marine sectors, such as food production and energy.

Support sustainable economic development and use of Scotland’s seas.

4.5 Islands, Wellbeing And Accessibility

4.5.1 Key Feedback

• Inclusion of specific island economies is supported and should align with National Islands Plan.
• Greater consideration of “blue health and wellbeing” and mention of “ocean literacy”.
• Cultural heritage could be merged with social and cultural wellbeing, noting overlap around “access”.
• Inclusion of “shared stewardship” needs to be clear to prevent implication that stewardship is the sole responsibility of communities rather than a shared effort.
• Clarity needed on “equitable access”.

4.5.2 Proposal

Feedback received suggested that there was potential overlap across the three HLOs: island and coastal communities, cultural heritage and wellbeing and that support for island and coastal communities cuts across multiple objectives. Our marine economy provides a vital source social benefit to Scotland’s communities supporting our social wellbeing. We recognise the important role that fair access to a healthy and productive marine space can play in supporting wellbeing. As such, it is proposed that the three previous draft high-level objectives be combined into the following:

Enable safe and fair access to Scotland’s coast and seas, whilst protecting and promoting valuable cultural assets.

4.6 Implementation

The HLOs for NMP2 have been designed to support the delivery of our vision for Scotland’s seas, and the requirements set out in the Marine Acts. To support the delivery of the HLOs in practice, and that of the plan as a whole, there is a need for a specific implementation-focused HLO.

To date, limited feedback has been received on the proposed wording of the draft HLOs focused on implementation. However, stakeholders have indicated general support for the inclusion of an implementation-specific HLO, recognising its importance for tracking plan use and delivery.

4.6.1 Proposal

The purpose of an implementation HLO is to support decision-making that balances environment protection and enhancement, with economic use and development in Scotland’s seas. Delivery against this objective would be supported by policy(ies) on consistent and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of the plan, and adaptive management.

Enable consistent and transparent decision-making to ensure sustainable use of Scotland’s seas.