Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Scottish Climate Change Bill: Consultation Proposals: Environmental Report

5 SEA Recommendations

Enhancement Recommendations

5.1 In general, the SEA assessments suggest that added flexibility on muirburn will have positive environmental effects and, therefore, no mitigation measures are identified.

5.2 As the development of further research on phenological, soil and peatland responses to climate change progresses, it would be useful to identify, and where possible quantify, the impacts of a range of muirburn management regimes over at least 3 distinct sites, which include muirburn under existing date restrictions, muirburn under flexible dates to respond to local conditions and a standard/ control site where no muirburn is undertaken.

5.3 Although such research takes time to develop, in terms of identifying suitable sites, setting the parameters, objectives and clearly stating the intended use of the results; long-term data on emissions impacts (eg. GHG, water, air) and the effect on the carbon balance between muirburn and soils, vegetative succession, peat formation and species adaptation will go some way to filling baseline data gaps.

5.4 The latest information from the Scottish Government is that they are already exploring such research and modelling options.

Environmental Baseline Data Recommendations

5.5 It is anticipated that any future research into the effects of muirburn management regimes could help provide long-term experiential data, on a range of issues, and that this would then help define future monitoring regimes and determine progress towards carbon sustainability by providing estimates on carbon balance in relation to muirburn activity.

5.6 Baseline data improvements could include:

• Area likely to be affected (eg. total area under muirburn management/ practice),
• Quantification/ estimate of associated GHG emissions (if available),
• Quantification of the carbon content of the soils under muirburn management,
• Overview of the impacts of muirburn on local ecology/ water/ soils/ landscape,
• Overview of the benefits of muirburn for same,
• GIS mapping of muirburn area/ soils at risk of damage from muirburn,
• Overview of the impacts of changing climate on muirburn practice,
• Estimate of the likely change under changing climate conditions, (ie. will more or less land be likely to come under muirburn management, and therefore lead to more, less or similar emissions).

Future Monitoring Recommendations

5.7 Scottish Government, in conjunction with stakeholders, may wish to further explore the potential for monitoring. Monitoring of muirburn practice is not likely to be covered under the SCCB, as the proposed SCCB provision only extends to providing flexibility on applicable dates; however, the potential for monitoring should be considered as a useful element of further research, to identify those policy areas where monitoring indicators would be most usefully reported.

5.8 The benefits of improved monitoring would be to:

• Better identify and quantify the total area of land under muirburn management;
• Quantify emissions associated with muirburn and also quantify emission risk averted/ managed through muirburn control of wildfire.

5.9 Such monitoring may be difficult to achieve due to number of variables, but possibly worth exploring suitable mechanisms, through any future research, to more clearly define the future value of muirburn practice in relation to wildfires, especially in the context of potentially drier climatic conditions.

5.10 It is possible that future monitoring on the effectiveness of the provision can be reported through the Scottish Climate Change Bill reporting mechanisms. Therefore, it may prove useful to include a requirement to record, report and monitor the use of the provision under the Scottish Climate Change Bill for a number of reasons:

• Identify where the timing of muirburn practice is being modified in response to seasonal change;
• Help build a spatial picture of seasonal change across Scotland;
• Record local evidence of the benefits/ impacts of the provision.

5.11 To the extent that such monitoring might, in the future, be necessary on a statutory basis, it may be possible to use the enabling power proposed for the SCCB to place a duty on a relevant public sector body to take action on climate change.

5.12 Paragraph 27-31 of the Scottish Government's response to the consultation on the SCCB describe this policy intention. The response is available online at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/10/response

5.13 Any improved monitoring measures should be used to update muirburn baseline data, as and when information becomes available.