Scottish Government

REVIEW OF INTEGRATION AMONG PLANS FOR THE COAST IN SCOTLAND: Analysis of the SCF Coastal Plans Inventory

RECOMMENDATIONS

In light of our review of the case study areas and the conclusions on the previous page, the study team makes the following recommendations:

• A National Strategy for ICZM should be prepared to act as both a co-ordination mechanism and a means of guidance regarding methodology for ICZM.
• The EU principles and best practice should be clearly transposed through a National Strategy for ICZM to provide assistance to the ICZM process at the local level.
• An accurate ICZM baseline for Scotland, against which future ICZM performance can be monitored, should be established.
• A set of headline and core indicators for ICZM, not only to gauge integration between plan policies but to track performance of the entire ICZM process, should be developed.
• Consideration should be given to the cycle of plan preparation and publication in relation to ICZM plan preparation and its relationship to other plans in the Initiative area. An ideal scenario would have the synchronisation of plan preparation to secure integration.
• Continued support should be given to NPPG 13 as a valuable tool in classifying the coast and also as a resource in the preparation of plans and strategies and on wider management issues in the coastal zone.
• Wider dissemination of information on coastal issues should be encouraged with greater availability of plans and strategies relating to the coast together with promotion of more public participation in their preparation.