Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the Agricultural Tenancies proposals Environmental Report
SEA is a systematic process for evaluating the environmental consequences of proposed plans, strategies, or programmes. This Report accompanies the Agricultural Tenancies proposals, within the Land Reform Bill.
3. Scope of the SEA
What is the scope of the SEA?
SEA Scoping Report
3.1 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires that: “Before deciding on the scope and level of detail of the information to be included in the environmental report to be prepared in accordance with section 14; the responsible authority shall send to each consultation authority such sufficient details of the qualifying plan or programme as will enable the consultation authority to form a view on those matters.” In Scotland, the consultation bodies are Historic Environment Scotland, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Natural Heritage (NatureScot).
3.2 These authorities were consulted on the scope of the SEA for the Agricultural Tenancies proposals through the release of an SEA Scoping Report to consultees in July 2023.[8]
Content of the Scoping Report
3.3 Developing the draft scope for the SEA as presented in the Scoping Report has involved the following steps:
- Exploring the policy context for the Agricultural Tenancy proposals and SEA to summarise the key messages arising.
- Establishing the baseline for the SEA (i.e., the current and future situation in the area in the absence of the proposals to help identify the likely significant effects of the proposals).
- Identifying particular problems or opportunities (‘issues’) that should be a particular focus of the SEA; and
- Considering this information, developing an SEA framework comprising SEA objectives and assessment questions, which can then be used as a guiding framework for the subsequent assessment.
Issues/ themes scoped into the SEA
3.4 Scoping identified a range of environmental themes that should be a particular focus of SEA. In this respect, in terms of the SEA ‘issues’ suggested by Schedule 3 of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005[9], the following were scoped in through the scoping process.
| SEA theme | Scoped In |
|---|---|
| Biodiversity, flora and fauna, and geodiversity | √ |
| Climatic factors | √ |
| Air quality | x |
| Water | x |
| Soil | x |
| Cultural heritage | x |
| Landscape | x |
| Material assets | x |
| Population and human health | x |
3.5 As set out in the Scoping Report “In the interest of proportionality and given the national level focus of the policy, coupled with the presence of existing mitigation in place at the project level within existing current agricultural regulations and consenting regimes, the environmental theme areas: population and human health, soil, water, air quality, cultural heritage, material assets, and landscape have been scoped out of this SEA. Notwithstanding, to ensure that the potential for any localised indirect effects is recorded, and to allow for the SEA findings to directly inform the consideration of relevant issues at the local and project levels, it is proposed that the SEA acknowledge these within the context of the themes scoped into the assessment, as appropriate.”
3.6 In response to this, the SEA information in this Environmental Report has been presented through the following themes:
Biodiversity and geodiversity
Climate change
Landscape and
historic environment
Soil and water quality
3.7 The selected SEA themes have been chosen with a view to effectively presenting the SEA information. These themes reflect the broader interlinkages (including with regards to the flows of ecosystem services[10]) relating to the themes scoped in through the scoping process.
SEA Framework
3.8 The key environmental issues relating to the proposals have been translated into an SEA ‘Framework’ of objectives and assessment questions. The SEA Framework provides a way in which the likely significant environmental effects of the Agricultural Tenancies proposals and alternatives can be identified and subsequently analysed based on a structured and consistent approach.
3.9 As discussed above, the SEA Framework and the assessment findings in this Environmental Report have been streamlined and presented under four SEA themes to deliver a proportionate and effective assessment process. In this respect the accompanying objectives and assessment questions for each theme have been refined as appropriate in recognition of the high-level nature of the proposals at this stage.
3.10 The SEA Framework is presented in Table 3.2 below.
| SEA theme | SEA objective | Assessment questions (will the proposal help to…) |
|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity and geodiversity | Protect and enhance habitats and species in Scotland |
|
| Enhance understanding of biodiversity and geodiversity |
|
|
| Support efforts to meet international and national biodiversity commitments |
|
|
| Climate change | Support Scotland reach net zero emissions by 2045 |
|
| Enable agricultural tenancies to deliver climate mitigation measures |
|
|
| Support the ability of agricultural tenancies to be resilient to the potential impacts of climate change |
|
|
| Landscape and historic environment | Protect and enhance the character and quality of Scotland’s nationally designated landscapes |
|
| Protect and enhance landscape character outside of nationally designated landscapes |
|
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| Conserve and enhance Scotland’s historic environment, including designated and non-designated heritage assets |
|
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| Promote opportunities for enhancing the understanding of Scotland’s distinct historic and cultural resource |
|
|
| Soil and water quality | Maintain and enhance soil quality |
|
| Maintain and enhance water quality |
|
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