SCOTLAND'S BATHING WATERS: A strategy for improvement
MINISTERIAL FOREWORD
The people of Scotland are rightly proud of our unique environment. We appreciate it for itself - and also because of its vital importance to tourism, one of our biggest income generators and job supporters. With our long coastline, it is inevitable that there should be a particular public interest, well reflected in the media, in the quality of our coastal waters. People in Scotland are willing to invest in this priceless asset: replies to a recent survey carried out for the Water Industry Commissioner showed that, by a distance, the public's top priority for investment by the industry was better waste water treatment to improve the cleanliness of our rivers and coastal bathing areas.
The Scottish Executive shares this priority. We are committed to achieving European standards at all 60 Scottish identified bathing waters. This will not be simple. We have to overcome a legacy of under-investment in the water industry and of ignoring not only the resulting problems but also fully justified public expectations of improved standards, amongst Scots and visitors alike. We have made a good start. The under-investment has been reversed: during the current 3-year period the water authorities will have invested 1.8 billion in improving its infrastructure, about half of which is for waste water treatment. During the 4-year period 2002 - 06 the Scottish water industry is planning to invest around 2 billion on further improvements. These improvements are already showing results.
The achievement of the Scottish Executive's commitment, however, does not depend on the water industry alone. Pollution at our bathing waters often arises from sources over which the water industry has no control, such as industrial processes, rainwater run-off from built-up areas, and land use practices. This strategy is about encouraging all sectors to play their part in reducing pollution, by making use of knowledge about best practice which already exists. The Scottish Executive will help with this. For example, in A Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture, which we launched on 29 June 2001, we committed ourselves to working with SEPA and the farming industry to develop cost-effective approaches to tackle water pollution.
The influences on bathing water quality are varied and each sector, whether in an urban, rural or industrial context, has a role to play. Conversely, achieving the goal we have set ourselves will also affect a wide range of interests: it will protect public health and promote recreation and the tourism industry. Involvement of all stakeholders and citizens in decisions on our water environment is essential.
In the meantime, the Scottish Executive has recognised that protecting the environment is not a subject that stands apart, but must be integrated into all we do. Its combination with the Rural Development portfolio ensures that the environment will be at the forefront of our considerations, whichever aspect of the great range of rural development issues we are examining. We are also conscious of the environment as a great link between urban and rural Scotland, linking what our Department does even more firmly with all the others.
In short, our work to clean up bathing waters is a classic example of the "joined-up approach". It depends on our concerted efforts. While protection of our bathing waters cannot depend on one sector, if we all play our part the burden on individual sectors will not be excessive. By each doing a little, we can collectively change a lot.
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ROSS FINNIE MSP
Minister for Environment
and Rural Development | ALLAN WILSON MSP
Deputy Minister for Environment
and Rural Development |