Biodiversity strategy and delivery plan: strategic environmental assessment

7. Proposed monitoring programme

Monitoring in SEA

7.1 Monitoring in SEA is a means of evaluating the environmental performance of the plan or strategy and monitoring compliance through its implementation. It is also a way to check whether the effects predicted in the SEA arise as envisaged, or whether unforeseen issues arise.

7.2 Monitoring can help to evaluate whether a plan or strategy is fulfilling its core objective of delivering sustainable development and providing for a high level of protection of the environment. The information gathered through monitoring provides a basis to inform the review and preparation of subsequent iterations of plans, strategies and projects that sit within them, thus better informing future decisions.

7.3 Measuring indicators over time can identify long-term positive or negative changes and trends in the environment and can build knowledge on how these trends will affect (or will be affected by) the implementation of the plan or strategy itself. In this respect monitoring environmental changes occurring during the SBS & Delivery Plan's implementation phase can help to identify the need for additional mitigation measures or for appropriate remedial action to be undertaken where issues are identified, as well as to inform project-level assessments.

Proposed SEA monitoring programme for the SBS & Delivery Plan

7.4 Schedule 2 of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act highlights that the Environmental Report should include "a description of the measures envisaged concerning monitoring."

7.5 In response to this, this Environmental Report presents a proposed draft monitoring programme for measuring the proposals' implementation.

7.6 It draws on the identified potential significant effects identified through the assessment of the various components of the proposals, and also suggests where monitoring is required to help ensure that the potential benefits of the proposals are effectively achieved through implementation.

7.7 This will enable appropriate interventions to be undertaken if monitoring highlights negative or underperforming trends relating to the proposals' implementation.

7.8 The Scottish Government intends to monitor and evaluate the performance of key performance indicators and use the data to enable them to adjust their approach if necessary. It is therefore beneficial if the SEA monitoring strategy builds on monitoring systems which are already in place. To this end, many of the indicators of progress chosen for the SEA are likely to reflect data that is already being routinely collected by the Scottish Government. As such, the indicators proposed for the SEA will be integrated into the Scottish Government's monitoring approach.

7.9 Table 6.1 therefore outlines a proposed monitoring programme for measuring the SBS & Delivery Plan's implementation. It pays particular attention to the areas where the SEA has identified potential significant effects and also suggests where monitoring is required to help ensure that the positive effects of the proposals are achieved through implementation. It includes:

• The significant effect or environmental change to be monitored.
• The SEA topic(s) to which the monitoring proposal relates.
• The indicator to be monitored.
• The source of information and frequency of monitoring; and
• The trigger for where intervention should take place if monitoring suggests it is required.

7.10 It should be noted that the programme set out below comprises preliminary suggestions for the types of indicators which can be monitored. It is anticipated that a refined set of indicators will be developed following further engagement with stakeholders and during the implementation phase of the SBS & Delivery Plan (Chapter 7).