Scottish Sustainable Marine Environment Initiative (SSMEI)

Background

The Sustainable Scottish Marine Environment Initiative (SSMEI) was conceived following the recommendations of the Scottish Government's Marine Sub-Group (MSG), established to examine the management of Scotland's marine environment within the context of proposed reforms to the system of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The MSG and the Scottish Government agreed that work was required to identify which elements of Scotland's natural heritage, if any, required additional protection and how this might be best achieved within the wider context of sustainable development. In 2002, funding of £250,000 was announced to resource a Sustainable Scottish Marine Environment Initiative, along with an SSMEI steering group to oversee and co-ordinate the work programme.

As part of its remit, the SSMEI is examining the nature, scale and potential of social, economic and environmental resources in Scottish waters, along with the pressures they face, focusing on the sustainable management of Scotland 's coastal marine environment.

Undertaken in three phases, the initiative's work programme has brought together organisations from a broad range of interested sectors, including nature conservation and biodiversity; fisheries and aquaculture; water quality; tourism and recreation; civil engineering and economic development.

A literature review was undertaken in Phase I, scoping and design of the framework for a series of pilot management schemes in Phase II. Implementation of these pilots schemes is now in progress as part of the final Phase III.