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

6 Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting

6.1 Section 19 of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires that Responsible Authorities monitor significant environmental effects of the implementation of the PPS. This must be done in such a way as to also identify unforeseen adverse effects and to take appropriate remedial action.

6.2 With respect to a provision to amend dates for allowing muirburn activities, there are not expected to be any significant adverse environmental impacts. The provision is anticipated to provide a pragmatic solution that allows the appropriate continuation of muirburn under changing seasonal conditions.

6.3 However, with respect to reporting, it would be useful to state clearly how the provision is to be enacted, ie. whether specific permission needs to be granted to land managers for muirburn outwith current dates and whether these permissions will be recorded, or if the permissible dates are to be revised periodically and muirburn allowed to be carried out, under best practice, within the revised periods without the need for specific permission.

6.4 It will be important to identify how reporting requirements will inform future muirburn policy and how any unforeseen negative impacts are identified and addressed, through the future identification of effective indicators.

6.5 There is, at present, no direct monitoring of muirburn practice and no single effective muirburn indicator available. Until further research and analysis is commissioned, there are proxy measures that could be made more explicit, should the need be identified, including:

• SEPA water quality monitoring - regular sampling programmes could help identify any significant impact on water quality, as a result of damaging muirburn practice, with responsibility and cause assigned upon a SEPA investigation. Examples could include muirburn leading to soil erosion and increased sediment load. There are no issues in this area at present, as muirburn does not have a significant impact, however such systems could flag up any future problems.
• Opportunities to realise synergies with the upcoming Scottish Soil Framework, which states an intention to develop a National Soil Monitoring Network. This links closely with another of the intentions of the SCCB, which is to protect high carbon peat soils to prevent additional emissions from these large organic carbon stores.
• Potential mechanisms through Agricultural Cross Compliance and Land Management Contracts under the Scottish Rural Development Programme.