Scottish Government

4 Environmental BASELINE Information and trends

4.1 Introduction

Schedule 2 of the SEA Regulations requires that the environmental report includes a description of "the relevant aspects of the current state of the environment". This section provides: summary information on the current state of Scotland's environment; trends in this data where available; and indicates which issues are considered to be of particular relevance to the development of the SRDP, and why they are considered to be of relevance. This information informs the environmental baseline against which the impacts of the proposals within the SRDP were assessed during the undertaking of the strategic environmental assessment.

The data replicated here was collated from a number of sources, and all data collated by each of the source bodies was collated with regard to the whole of Scotland and does not relate specifically to Scotland's rural environment. None of the data collated was gathered by the relevant authorities with a specific view of assessing the impacts of Scotland's rural community. However, where designated sites and other environmental information can be related to the rural environment and/or activities undertaken in the rural environment these issues are highlighted.

The information in this section helped to guide the identification of the key environmental issues considered to be of relevance to the undertaking of a strategic environmental assessment for the Scotland Rural Development Programme and these are discussed in section 5.2.

4.2 Biodiversity, Fauna and Flora

This section considers the different habitats and species which have been afforded protection under international and/or national legislation, (designated species, habitats and areas) and how the status of these areas has changed over time.

Scottish Biodiversity Strategy

The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy ¹⁸, aims to conserve biodiversity for the health, enjoyment and wellbeing of the people of Scotland now and in the future. This strategy was developed in close partnership with the Scottish Biodiversity Forum, a broad based working partnership of public, private and voluntary organizations, and also draws from a set of documents published by the Forum in 2003 under the collective title of "Towards a Strategy for Scotland's Biodiversity: Biodiversity Matters."

This strategy represents Scotland's response to its obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity and to the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, along with the Scottish Ministers' desire to put biodiversity at the heart of our national identity and culture. The strategy covers the period up to 2030. It's vision is that in 2030, Scotland is recognized as a world leader in biodiversity conservation and it aims to conserve biodiversity for the health, enjoyment and wellbeing of the people of Scotland now and in the future.

Building on the Strategy, Scottish Ministers have prepared the Scottish Biodiversity List to satisfy the requirements of Section 2(4) of Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. The Scottish Biodiversity List is a list of flora, fauna and habitats considered to be of principal importance for biodiversity conservation in Scotland. The Scottish Biodiversity List is a tool for public bodies and others doing their Biodiversity Duty and is an important source of information and guidance for all. The list consists of four separate spreadsheets, one each for: terrestrial and freshwater species; terrestrial and freshwater habitats; marine species and habitats; and species and habitats identified as important by the Scottish Public in a Social Survey.

4.2.1 Biodiversity Action Plans

The United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan ( UKBAP) is the UK Government's response to the Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD) which was signed in 1992 and which gives the Scottish Executive a duty or obligation to consider the implications of any legislation, policies, plans or actions they consider implementing and subsequently implement within Scotland. The BAPs describe the UK's biological resources, which are a significant national asset and commits the UK to delivering a detailed plan for the protection of these resources in order to met their obligations under the CBD. Currently there are 391 Species Action Plans ( SAPs), 45 Habitat Action Plans ( HAPs) and 162 Local Biodiversity Action Plans ( LBAPs) with targeted actions in the UK. The UKBAP priority species and habitats reviews are currently being carried out and will be finished by the end of 2006.

Scotland, like the rest of the UK, has developed a series of Local Biodiversity Action Plans which contain measures to implement the convention and fulfil its agreements at a local level. The majority of the action plans produced in Scotland follow local authority boundaries although there are several, such as the Cairngorm LBAP which cross boundaries. There are twenty-five plans at different stages of development, with many of them having been developed ¹⁹. In addition, Scotland has a prepared a

The original aims of LBAPs were to ensure that national targets for species and habitats drawn up in the UKBAP and translated into a local level. LBAPs need to list species and habitats that are of value to the local area. LBAP groups and partnerships are located where an area is considered a 'prime area' for a priority species or habitat.

Many of the BAPs cover rural areas, and despite less than half of Scotland's farmland being covered by agri-environment agreements, the success of SAPs and HAPs is still constrained. Figures 4.1 and 4.2 below indicate the status of 173 BAP priority species and 31 BAP priority habitats respectively in 2002. These figures cover the whole of Scotland and do not relate solely to rural Scotland. These show that 18% of species and 29% of habitats were in decline while only 2% of species and 16% of habitats were increasing in status. 27% and 29% of species and habitats respectively were considered to be stable.

Figure 4.1: Status of BAP Species in Scotland in 2002²⁰

Figure 4.2: Status of BAP Habitats in Scotland in 2002²¹

While agriculture cannot be held wholly accountable for the declining status of the BAP habitats and species, agricultural practices such as inappropriate grazing levels, agri-chemical pollution and nutrient enrichment, as well as conversion of grazing land to arable land have been attributed to their current status. ^22.

4.2.2 Designated Areas

There are several types of site designated for their flora, fauna and biodiversity These include sites designated under international legislation (such as Special Areas of Conservation ( SACs), Special Protection Areas ( SPAs) and Ramsar sites) and sites designated under national legislation (such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest ( SSSIs)). These sites may lie in marine and/or coastal areas and are therefore not directly impacted upon by the new SRDP, but these marine and/or coastal sites may be indirectly affected by activities funded by the SRDP 2007 - 2013 through for example actions which reduce diffuse pollution therefore reducing nutrient and bacteria entering marine waters.

Special Areas of Conservation

SAC's are designated to protect natural habitats and other species of wild plants and animals ²³. There are currently, 238 sites in Scotland designated as Special Areas of Conservation ( SACs), covering a total area of approximately 963,000 hectares.

Special Protection Areas

SPA's provide protection to birds which are rare within Europe as well as migratory birds passing through European contries. Currently, there are a total of 140 classified Special Protection Areas ( SPAs) in Scotland, covering a total area of 624,772 ha and in addition there are 3 SPAs which have been subsumed into larger sites since their initial classification

Ramsar Sites

Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance designated under the provisions of the Convention of Wetlands (referred to as the Ramsar Convention) signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971. This intergovernmental treaty provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Currently, 51 sites in Scotland have been designated as Ramsar sites, covering a total area of approximately 313,670 hectares.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

SSSIs are areas of special interest by reason of their flora, fauna, or geographical or physiographical features. There are currently 1,451 SSSIs in Scotland covering approximately 13% of Scotland (1,005,300 hectares)

Figure 4.3 below indicates the changes in numbers of these four types of sites in the period 1991 - 2005 inclusive.

Figure 4.3: Designated Areas 1991 - 2005²⁴

Scottish Natural Heritage have recent completed the first cycle of their site conditioning monitoring ( SCM) which ran from 1998 - 2005 and resulted in a total of 88% of all features on designated sites in Scotland being monitored ²⁵. The sites were assigned to one of three main categories: Favourable (maintained or recovered); unfavourable (recovering); and other unfavourable (no change or declining) and destroyed (partially or totally) and the results of the monitoring are shown in Table 4.1 below which indicates that some 71% of these features being deemed to be in either a favourable or an unfavourable but recovering condition.

Table 4.1: Proportion of features assessed as favourable or unfavourable recovering

These results are further broken down into a number of broad categories and these are shown in Figure 4.4 below.

Figure 4.4: Condition of Notified features in the first reporting round of the SCM 1998 - 2005

The benefits of this study have been to identify the areas where local management solutions may be beneficial helping to target future funding of management agreements, and also to help identify where the underlying problem may have more general policy roots (such as climate change). In addition, these results could contribute towards assessing the effectiveness of the Natural Care Schemes and wider biodiversity strategies.

There are a number of other types of designated sites designated under local legislation and/or local policies and initiatives and these, although not described in detail in this section, have been considered during the undertaking of the SEA and the preparation of the Environmental Report.

4.3 Air quality

Historic records indicate that air quality has improved in Scotland to the extent that air quality within Scotland is generally considered to be good. The most dramatic improvements in air quality have been observed in urban areas although urban areas still have poorer (but still considered acceptable) air quality than rural areas of Scotland. These improvements in air quality have resulted from changes in legislation and technology and the difference between air quality in rural and urban areas is attributed to motor traffic emissions ^26.

The main factor impacting air quality from rural Scotland is ammonia, as ammonia emissions are dominated by agricultural sources with emissions from livestock and their wastes comprising 78% of the total emission ²⁷. These emissions derive mainly from the decomposition of urea in animal wastes and uric acid in poultry wastes. Emissions depend on animal species, age, weight, diet, housing systems, waste management and storage techniques. The other agricultural sources of ammonia includes are emissions from fertiliser use, crops and decomposition of agricultural vegetation. Emissions of ammonia from road transport although relatively small are increasing as a result of the increasing number of three-way catalysts in the vehicle fleet. Emissions in 2003 represent a decrease of 19% on the 1990 emissions. ²⁸

4.4 Climatic factors

Greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gases include any gas in the atmosphere that is capable, as a result of its particular molecular structure, of absorbing infrared radiation or heat. They are called greenhouse gases because they behave like glass in a greenhouse, allowing sunlight to pass through but trapping the heat formed and preventing it from escaping, thereby causing a rise in temperature referred to as the greenhouse effect. Natural greenhouse gases include water vapour or moisture, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and even ozone, which is more commonly associated with the ozone layer and ultraviolet radiation. The amounts of all these gases in the atmosphere are now being increased as a result of man-made processes, such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, for example, has increased by 30% since the 18 ^th century, whilst levels of methane have more than doubled. ²⁹

In addition to the man-made increase of these naturally occurring greenhouse gases, new chemicals including chlorofluorocarbons ( CFCs) which affect the ozone layer, have been released into the atmosphere and although these have been banned, they are anticipated to remain in the atmosphere for at least a further 50 years. Their replacements, hydrochlorofluorocarbons ( HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons ( HFCs) although relatively harmless to the ozone layer, are potential greenhouse gases and their use is not due to be phased out for a further 20 - 30 years.

Scientific evidence is growing that manmade emissions of greenhouse gases are having a noticeable effect on the earth's climate, Globally seven of the ten warmest years on record were in the 1990s and it is anticipated that the earth's climate could warm by as much as 3 ^oC over the next 100 years. The social, economic and environmental costs associated with this could be considerable and climate change is considered to be one of the most serious environmental threats facing the world today. Its impacts include sea level rises, temperature increases, drought and flooding all of which will affect people's health and way of life and cause irreversible loss of many species of plants and animals.

Under the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol (1997) legally binding targets for the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions were set for the UK as a whole and Scotland contributes to the meeting of this target. Figure 4.5 below shows that in the periods 1990 - 2003 greenhouse gas emissions fell by 10%. Within this reduction, CO2 emissions fell by 8% and non- CO2 greenhouse gases fell by 20%. In addition there was a 20% increase in the amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere by forests and soils accounting for an overall reduction on GHG emissions of 14 % over the period.

Figure 4.5: Changes in greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland 1990 - 2003 (MtC)³⁰

The contribution of each sector to Scottish emissions is shown in Figure 4.6 below. The energy supply sector contributed 37% of emissions in 2003, with the bulk of emissions in this sector being attributed to electricity generation and oil refining, which in turn supply power to other sectors such as residential, business and transport. With 17% of emissions, the transport sector was the second biggest contributor during 2003. Agriculture, business and the residential sectors contributed 11-12% of emissions each.

Figure 4.6: Contribution of each sector to Scottish GHG Emissions of GHGs in 2003 (MtC) ²¹

Of the emissions generated, some 16% are removed (via our carbon sink) primarily due to Land Use Change and Forestry ( LUCF) and Table 4.2below shows how the emissions (and removals) by sector, have changed over the period 1990 - 2003.

Table 4.2: Breakdown of Scottish Emissions by sector in 2003, and change from 1990 ²¹.

The main greenhouse gas emissions form the agricultural sector are methane and nitrous oxide with only a small amount of CO2 from energy use. The sources of these emissions are shown in Figure 4.7 below. 73% of the methane emissions in Scotland originate from agriculture with the mains sources being enteric fermentation from livestock, with a small amount from the handling of livestock wastes. The 8% fall in methane production from agriculture in the period 1990 - 2003 was due to a fall in livestock numbers.

In addition to being the main source of methane production in Scotland, agriculture is also major source of nitrous oxide emissions accounting for 83% of emissions. Nitrous oxide arises from the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers and emissions form grazing animals and these was a 17% decrease in these emissions over the period 1990 - 2003.

Table 4.7: Sources of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions 1990 - 2003 (MtC)²¹

Forestry makes a net contribution to reducing atmospheric CO2 by carbon sequestration (the uptake of carbon by growing biomass), and through forest vegetation and soils). In addition additional carbon dioxide reductions can be made when wood is burned in preference to fossil fuels and when timber replaces steel and concrete (energy intensive material) during construction.

Over 50% of electricity generated in Scotland over the period 2000 - 20003 inclusive was produced from fossil fuels including coal, oil and gas. Approximately a third of the electricity generated was produced from nuclear which although does not contribute to greenhouse gas emissions has other environmental issues associated with it such as the disposal of spent fuel.

The Scottish Executive, under the provisions of the Climate Change Programme, has set a target that the production energy from renewable sources ³¹ (hydroelectric (natural flow) and other renewables) should be 18% in 2010 rising to 40% by 2020. The implications of this target, in particular where the increased use of natural flow hydroelectric schemes on the water environment will require to be considered and this is discussed later in the document. In the period 2000 - 2003 energy production from renewable sources was around 8%. While the amount of energy produced from hydroelectric (natural flows) fluctuated within this period, the energy generated from other renewables increased annually over this period. Figure 4.8 below shows energy production by source over this period.

Figure 4.8 - Electricity Production by source 2000 - 2005³²

The Scottish Executive's target for increased energy production from renewable sources will impact on Rural Scotland as many of these facilities are located in rural environments, such at the top of hills and mountains where there are increased winds and where there is more energy in the watercourses where water, for energy production, can be abstracted and diverted to hydropower stations via gravity.

4.5 Water Environment

This section considers issues relating to the water environment including the Scottish Executive's aims for the period until 2015 and indicates trends of the water environment over the past five years and the current threats to the water environment.

Water Framework Directive

The Scottish Executive is aiming to achieve and maintain good ecological quality in Scotland's rivers, lochs and coastal waters by the year 2015 in line with the targets of the Water Framework Directive. The introduction of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Controlled Activities Regulations 2005 ( CAR) which implement this Directive in Scotland are key steps in carrying out this policy.

The Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 (the WEWS Act) has established a broad framework for the future management of our rivers, lochs, coasts and groundwater. Under the Act, the Scottish Executive is required to introduce measures to protect the water environment and achieve good quality in Scotland's waters. The aim of the WEWS Act is to protect and improve the chemical, biological and ecological status of the water environment. However, it is also important to protect the social and economic interests of those who depend on Scotland's water environment.

The Water Framework Directive requires the introduction of a program of measures, including basic measures to safeguard the water environment, in order to achieve good water status by 2015. These measures must be in place by 2009 and operational by 2012; they will operate within the river basin management planning process. Some of these measures have already been introduced for various activities under the Controlled Activities Regulations. The Directive also provides that 'basic' measures may be assisted by supplementary measures, which may include voluntary action. In 2005 the Executive introduced the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations ( CAR) which provide controls over a range of activities liable to have an impact on the water environment. CAR provides that activities which constitute a threat to the water environment are permitted only if authorised under the proposed regime.

CAR updates and replaces the controls in the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and Groundwater Regulations 1998, under which all discharges of pollutants were subject to license by SEPA and provides a new licensing regime for abstraction, impoundments and river engineering works.

A recent document produced by SEPA, referred to as The Scotland River Basin District ( SRBD) Pressures and Impacts, ³³ report provides information about the factors which are considered to be threatening waterbodies in the SRBD meeting the WFD's requirement for good ecological status. The SRBD covers the majority of Scotland but does not include those areas of Scotland covered by the Solway Tweed River Basin District.

Point source pollution

The SRBD Pressures and Impacts report ³⁴ indicates that point source discharges from agriculture and forestry are considered to be responsible for 15 river and 1 coastal water bodies being identified as being 'at risk' by SEPA. Point source discharges can result in a reduction in water quality as they can contain substances which can affect the ecology of the water environment. Authorised point sources are from all those sites that have consents to discharge at a specific place such as waste water treatment plants and industrial premises. The consents control the amounts of substances discharged from these premises and these consents have been set to protect Scottish water bodies from pollution. Point source discharges from rural Scotland have a limited impact on water body status (285 river, 38 loch, 18 transitional, 110 coastal and 17 groundwater water bodies in total are considered to be at risk from point source pollution) with the biggest single cause of water bodies being deemed to be at risk of meeting the WFD's objective being sewage disposal activities.

Diffuse source pollution

The SRBD report ³⁵ indicates that a total of 488 river, 57 loch, 18 transitional, 59 coastal and 21 groundwater water bodies are affected by diffuse source pollution pressures. Agriculture and Forestry contribute to 409 river, 47 loch, 10 transitional, 31 coastal and 20 groundwater water bodies being considered at risk with urban development and acidification from the production of power and transport being the other major contributors.

Diffuse source discharges can result in a reduction in water quality as they can contain substances which can affect the ecology of the water environment. Diffuse pollution often associated with heavy rain when pollutants (nutrient and sediments from rural areas and vehicles emissions from hard surfaces in urban areas) are washed from the land into adjacent water bodies. Nutrients can cause eutrophication of water bodies and this can, on occasion result in increased algal growth in the water bodies which can alter the aquatic ecosystem and the recreational and amenity value of the water body.

Scotland has a high proportion of its land devoted to agriculture. Much of Scotland's agricultural land supports extensive production of sheep and cattle in upland areas, with intensive arable and livestock agriculture limited to lowland regions. Since the 1950s there have been substantial increases in agricultural outputs, both of crops and of livestock. Changes in agricultural production have involved increased fertiliser and pesticide inputs, as well as in some cases higher levels of soil loss. Since the 1950s:

• the amount of inorganic nitrogen applied to agricultural land has increased by 600%, and at the same time
• phosphorus application has increased by 70%.

SEPA estimates that some 45,000 tonnes of nitrate are lost from agriculture to surface waters and groundwater every year, and as well as some 2,800 tonnes of phosphate. Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) are essential plant nutrients, and valuable resources, but when they are lost from the land to the water environment they are a contributor to the process of eutrophication, which may result in an undesirable disturbance to natural conditions. The nutrients lost in this way come from livestock manures and from inorganic fertilisers.

Figure 4.9 below shows nitrate concentrations in watercourses during the period 1993 - 2004 and indicates that the percentage of freshwater sites monitored by SEPA at which nitrate levels were considered to be at or below background levels (0.3 mg N/l), and therefore unaffected by artificial nitrate enrichment, was over one third and rose slightly over the period 1996 - 2004. Between 1993 and 2004, the percentage of sites with an average nitrate concentration >2.5mg N/l (a high nitrate concentration) rose to a high of 25.5% in 1997 before falling to 17.6% in 2004.

Figure 4.9: Nitrate concentrations in rivers 1993 - 2004³⁶

Figure 4.10 below shows orthophosphate concentrations in watercourses during the period 1993 - 2004 and indicates that from the period 1996/98, when reduced rainfall resulted in increased phosphate levels in the watercourses, to 2004, the number of sites with background phosphate levels (<25 ug P/l) rose from 45% to 58% while the number of sites with the highest concentrations of phosphate (>125ug P/l) fell from 16% to 7.5%.

Figure 4.10: Orthophosphate concentrations in Rivers 1993 - 2004³⁷

Atmospheric pollution in the form of acidification can have a significant impact on water quality. Substances from industrial and vehicle emissions react in the atmosphere to form acids which fall as acid rain. Acid rain is particularly harmful in upland rural catchments where soils have less buffering capacity and run off into water bodies remains acidic. The increased acidity can impact on fish populations and the invertebrates on which the fish depend altering the ecosystem. While discharges of substances including nutrients and sediment can impact all water body types, acidification does not affect coastal or transitional waters.

Abstraction and flow regulation

The SRBD Pressures and impacts report indicates that of the 494 river, 114 loch, 1 transitional and 11 groundwater water bodies considered to at risk form abstraction and flow regulation, only 32 river, 2 loch and 2 groundwater water bodies were considered to be impacted upon by abstractions for forestry and agriculture. Other rural activities however also involve abstraction of water from water bodies, primarily rivers and lochs, which have greater impacts on water bodies than agriculture and forestry. These include fisheries and hydropower schemes which can result in the large scale abstraction of water for power generation which can have significant impacts on the water environment. Due to the need to large volumes of fast flowing water, hydropower schemes are primarily located in the upper, rural reaches of watercourses and in upland lochs. The abstraction of water from water bodies for varying purposes can result in reduced flows which can affect river, loch and wetland habitats and species. The damage to river and estuarine ecology can be long term, taking years to recover particularly if high abstraction rates combine with period of low rain fall.

Morphological alterations

The morphology of 341 river and 25 lochs was considered to be negatively impacted upon by agricultural and forestry activities according to the SRBD Pressures and Impacts Report ³⁸, with a total of 667 river, 120 loch, 16 transitional and 43 coastal water bodies being affected by morphological alteration. Once again other activities undertaken in Rural Scotland can impact on morphological alterations in water bodies and these activities include the generation of energy by hydropower and recreational activities. Morphological alterations can result over time as a result of natural flow regimes in fast flowing watercourses and coastlines with strong wave action, currents and coastal processes.

In addition morphological alterations can result from result from cattle or other stock poaching (the erosion of river and burn banks by cattle trampling at watering areas) and the absence of buffer strips between forestry plantations or farmed land and watercourses. These physical alterations in the morphology of water bodies can result in alterations to flow regimes and the damage or the loss of habitats (in extreme situations) which result in the decline or loss of species and a resultant loss of biodiversity.

4.6 Soil quality

There is little information relating to soil quality in Scotland, and what information is available is held by a number of different bodies in a number of formats. The Scottish Executive is managing a project which is currently pulling all this information together into a report on the State of Scottish Soils but this will not be available until summer 2006.

However, soil is a non-renewable resource and essential for supporting agriculture, forestry and ecosystems. SEPA have identified three main pressures affecting soils: industry; agriculture and forestry. As agriculture and forestry account for 80% and 13% respectively of the land area in Scotland ³⁹, impacts from rural Scotland on soil quality and quantity are potentially considerable. Impacts from agriculture include soil erosion, and the use of inorganic fertiliser and pesticide application. In addition, agriculture provides large quantities of gases which affect air quality as well as greenhouse gases (from land use change, fertiliser use and ammonia from intensive livestock rearing) and these products (in addition to vehicle and industrial emissions) can be reintroduced into the soil via atmospheric deposition in the form of acid rain, resulting in soil acidification. The impacts on forestry may be varied depending on management practices, with potential negative impacts on soil including erosion, soil acidification and leaching of nutrients to watercourses.

Soil losses from agricultural activities are estimated at 780,000 tonnes a year, with a further 13,000 tonnes a year from forestry ⁴⁰. These losses are a primary source of diffuse pollution, but are to some extent a by-product of normal rural land use. Erosion of soil can lead to more turbid waters as well as deposition in streams that is damaging to the ecology of water bodies.

4.7 Landscape

Scotland's landscapes are a major asset, contributing to its national and regional identities, adding to the quality of many people's lives and providing attractive settings which help to promote social and economic development. At the national level, its coasts, mountains and moorlands are particularly renowned, but locally the distinct identity of its landscapes and the association between people and the location which can be of particular value.

The main national landscape designations in Scotland are National Scenic Areas ( NSAs). These are areas of land considered of national significance on the basis of their outstanding scenic interest which must be conserved as part of the country's natural heritage. They have been selected for their characteristic features of scenery comprising a mixture of richly diverse landscapes including prominent landforms, coastline, sea and freshwater lochs, rivers, woodlands and moorlands. There are currently 40 NSA's in Scotland, covering a total area of 1,001,800 ha ⁴¹.

Areas of Great Landscape Value ( AGLVs ) may be designated by planning authorities for the purpose of safeguarding regionally or locally important areas of outstanding scenic character or quality from inappropriate development. In addition, some authorities have also identified areas of regional scenic significance. SDD Circular 2/1962 provides advice on the definition of AGLVs in development plans and the framing of policies for the control of development within them.

Local landscape designations are a well-established and valued approach to protecting and guiding change in areas of particular landscape importance in Scotland. Complementing the suite of 40 National Scenic Areas, Scotland's national landscape designation, local landscape designations act as an important tool for safeguarding and enhancing Scotland's rich diversity of landscapes. They can also play an important role at the local level in developing understanding and awareness of the landscape features and qualities that make particular areas distinctive and give communities a sense of place.

A landscape character assessment of Scotland commissioned by SNH identified changes in farmland; woodland; mountain and moorland; freshwater; and the coast line areas within Rural Scotland. Some of the key changes recorded during the assessment were attributed to changes in farming practice ( i.e. conversion of grass land to arable land; the loss of field boundaries); large scale coniferous afforestation; and loss of vegetation due to recreation in upland areas. Consequently the impacts of the SRDP on further alterations to local landscapes requires to be considered during the undertaking of the SEA.

4.8 Cultural Heritage/Historic Environment

Cultural heritage is also referred to as the historic environment and is defined in Section 16(3) of the Public Appointments and Public Bodies etc (Scotland) Act, 2003) as "….. any or all of the structures and places in Scotland of historic, archaeological or architectural interest or importance".NPPG 18 ⁴² builds on this definition by identifying the following features of interest: scheduled ancient monuments ( SAMs); historic buildings; designed gardens and landscapes; archaeological sites (including maritime archaeology); townscapes (including Conservation Areas); and historic landscapes. In addition, this definition includes not only the structures themselves, but also their wider contact or setting and consequently, actions which do not affect the structure of the SAM or listed building etc may alert its setting, for example the construction of houses in a field in which a SAM is situated. Rather than being surrounded by open fields, the SAM would be surrounded by housing thereby affecting its setting. .

As detailed in the definition of the historic environment there are numerous sites of which relate to Scotland's historic environment. There are for example 7800 scheduled ancient monuments ⁴³ ( SAMs) in rural Scotland which have been designated as a result of direct evidence of past human action. These SAMs are usually monuments and building which are generally unoccupied although there are several field SAMs - fields which show signs of past human action although there are no associated structures on the ground.

There are 4 world heritage sites in Scotland and two of these; 'St Kilda'; and the 'Heart of Neolithic Orkney', lie in Rural Scotland. Inscribed as a natural site in 1986 and following a successful re-nomination bid in July 2005, St Kilda is now one of the few World Heritage Sites to hold joint status for its natural, marine and cultural qualities. The Heart of Neolithic Orkney was inscribed in 1999 and comprises a series of discrete, but related, Neolithic monuments which fall into two complexes, 6 km apart.

There are 47,000 listed buildings in Scotland and these are buildings (and occasionally other structures such as harbours and bridges) selected for their individual character and quality. The majority of listed buildings are located in urbanised or developed areas with a small percentage being located within Rural Scotland.

There are numerous recorded archaeological sites within Scotland and details of these are held by the Local Authority Archaeological Services. These are often located in rural Areas. The number of archaeological sites is increasing daily as a result of new sites being identified primarily during construction. These sites often lie in rural areas where construction has not previously been undertaken.

4.9 Access and Recreation

Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act came into force in February 2005 and establishes statutory rights of responsible access to land and inland water for recreational and other purposes ⁴⁴. It also establishes new duties and powers for local authorities and national park authorities, including upholding access rights, planning a core paths system, and setting up local access forums. Guidance on the responsible exercise of access rights, and responsible land management is set out in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, approved by Parliament in July 2004.

The emphasis on the Act is on the local management of access. Access authorities have a duty to plan for core paths, which will be a major element in enabling all members of the public to exercise their right of access and in managing access. Access authorities have a duty to create local access forums, with a membership of recreational and land management interests, which will provide advice to access authorities in discharging their new duties and powers. The exercise of access rights does not increase the duty of care of landowners towards those exercising access rights.

The National Access Forum is a voluntary association of interested organisations convened by SNH partly to keep the Scottish Outdoor Access Code under review, and to encourage responsible management of land and water in relation to access;

Forests and woodlands in Scotland provide major access and recreation opportunities and increased access to privately owned forests and woodlands resulted for land reform. A survey into recreation in Scotland indicates that during the period July 2003 to June 2004 50 million visits were made to woodland with some 21 million visits to Forestry Commission or Forest Enterprise woodland and the remaining 29million to other woodlands ⁴⁵.

Access and recreation has the potential to impact on rural environment and the SRDP has the potential to ensure that while increased recreation and amenity to Rural Scotland is promoted, consideration to the environmental impacts of increased recreation is given and assistance is provided.

4.10 Land Use

Changes in land use have been implicated as having significant impacts on the landscape of rural Scotland, the water environment, air quality (local, national and international), climatic factors, and biodiversity as detailed in the sections above. One of the major land uses in Scotland is agriculture with approximately 80% of land in Scotland being given over to agriculture and a further 16% of land in Scotland being afforested. Land use is therefore key to the future environmental status of rural Scotland and the SRDP offers the potential influence this issue.

4.10.1 Agriculture

Changes in agricultural land use can have a significant impact on the water environment (section 4.5), emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (see section 4.4) and wildlife habitats (section 4.2). Between the period 1982 and 2004, the total area of land used for agriculture reduced by 4% in Scotland. Changes in agricultural land use can be influenced by the payments and grants available to agricultural land owners. For example, as a result of the reduction in the Arable Area Payment Scheme set-aside rate, there was a 71,700 hectare reduction in the area of agriculture land 'set-aside'. Figure 4.8 below indicates the changes that have occurred in agricultural land use in the period 1982 - 2004 graphically.

Figure 4.8: Changes in Agricultural Land use 1982 - 2004 (thousand hectacres)⁴⁶

4.10.2 Woodland

Woodland in Scotland has significant environmental importance. It has a wide ranging influence on biodiversity, the physical environment and is an indication of the resource available for sustainable timber production. In addition, woodland has aesthetic and recreational value ⁴⁷. Figure 4.9 below indicates that there has been a steady increase in the area of Scotland covered by woodland since 1924.

Figure 4.9: Area of Woodland 1924 - 2005 (thousand hectares)⁴⁸

More than 1.334 million hectares or approximately 16.9% of the land in Scotland is given over to forestry. 0.168 million hectares of these forests comprise native species, with most of the mature woodland being made up of non-native coniferous species ⁴⁹. Over a third of woodland In Scotland is managed by the Forestry Commission and 51% of Scotland's woodland is certified as sustainably managed.

4.10.3 Habitats

During the period 1990 -1998 changes in broad habitat type (as identified for consistent reporting and monitoring under the provisions of the UKBAP - see section 4.2 for details of LBAPs) were noted. The greatest change was in the loss of semi-natural (grasslands, bogs and bracken) habitats which declined by nearly 900,000 hectares. This represents a decrease of about 2% over the period but while some habitats within the broad habitat type decreased i.e. dwarf shrubs and grassland, there was a 20% increase in fens, marshes and swamps. Woodland, developed habitats and land used for intensive agriculture all increased by 2.4% (323, 000 hectares), 12% (194,000 hectares) and 2.2% (367,000 hectares) respectively. These broad habitat changes (five out of the 20 types identified) are shown in Figure 4.10 below.

Figure 4.10: Broad Habitat Change 1990 - 1998 (thousand hectares)⁵⁰

4.11 Limitations of data

The data used to formulate the environment baseline was collated by a wide range of organisations for a number of purposes and no information has been collated specifically for the assessment of the environment in Rural Scotland although a recent report, referred to above ⁵¹ looked at the state of the environment in farmed land. Consequently it is only possible to infer relationships between changes in the environmental baseline recorded and agricultural practice, but no definite linkages can be specified.

Therefore, when assessing the actual environmental impacts of the SRDP 2007-2013 following its implementation, more detailed baseline environmental data will be required and a data collation exercise may be required before the strategy is implemented. One way to facilitate the process is to make more use of farm audit information collected upon entry to agri-environment schemes although this will only give information on a percentage of the sites for which this information will be required.

As a result of this need for background data, there is a requirement as part of the implementation of the SRDP for early liaison with those organisations responsible for environmental sampling and data collation for other polices, plans, programmes or legislation to discuss the monitoring requirements for the SRDP and to determine if there are ways in which their monitoring activities can be used to assess the effectiveness of the SRDP as it is implemented and progresses. This is discussed in more detail in section 7 of this report.