Being open and accountable is central to the way in which SNH works.
Some of the ways in which we do this are described below:
For further information contact Carole.wells@snh.gov.uk
Tel 01463 725004
Our customers are the people of Scotland and anybody who visits, works in or takes an interest in Scotland’s natural heritage. This includes public and private organisations and the government as well as individuals. We are committed to providing an efficient, effective, high-quality service to all our customers.
We have a set of customer standards and we review our performance on these throughout the year. We also carry out regular customer surveys to help us improve the service we provide.
For further information contact Martin.Stubbs-Partridge@snh.gov.uk
01463 725000
SNH carries out original research to create an evidence base for our work. Our priorities are set out in a research and development strategy, which covers the period 2007- 2012.
The strategy links the environmental agenda with health, education and tourism, and has five broad themes:
An action plan outlines the planned programme in greater detail, including indicative funding levels for each programme area.
SNH undertakes much of its research with partner organisations, notably within the Scottish Government, local authorities, universities and a wide range of public, private and voluntary bodies. In 2007/08, we plan to spend about £5.5 million on research, including site surveys and monitoring.
Making the completed research available externally is very important. We produce Commissioned Research reports, and also promote the results through activities like our Sharing Good Practice programme and the Trends programme.
For further information contact Iain.MacGowan@snh.gov.uk
01738 458564
SNH has a web-based information service, called SNHi. Through this service you can:
We will soon be launching a new section, called SpeciesLink, which will provide access to our data on Scotland’s species, including information on distribution, conservation status, sightings and photographs.
For further information contact Alan.McKirdy@snh.gov.uk
01738 458568
One of SNHs key roles is to provide good advice and guidance on natural heritage issues to a wide range of people and organisations in Scotland and beyond. We do this through:
For further information contact erica.knott@snh.gov.uk
01738 458674
Many of the best examples of Scotland's natural heritage are designated as protected areas. These areas form about 20% of Scotland’s land area.
These areas are protected to help conserve and enhance our most important habitats, species and landscapes, and to ensure that any proposed changes to them can be considered in advance and, if necessary, action taken to prevent damage or manage change.
There are three levels of protected area:
Internationally important, which includes:
Our role is to designate these sites on behalf of Scottish Ministers and to act as an advisor on the protective regime required by the Habitats Regulations.
Nationally important, which includes:
Locally important, which includes:
We work closely with managers of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Natura sites. Since 2001, our Natural Care schemes have offered financial support for the management of these sites. From 2007, Natural Care will be integrated into the Scotland Rural Development Programme.
You can find out more about protected areas through SNHi, including access to site documentation through Sitelink and information on each site through Facts and Figures.
For further information contact John.Burlison@snh.gov.uk
01555 665928
Scottish wildlife is protected under three main pieces of legislation:
These pieces of legislation set out specific offences in relation to protected species of animal, birds and plants. There are, however, a number of exceptions or defences against these offences and one of these is licensing.
Licences can be issued to permit actions that would otherwise be illegal. Each piece of legislation gives specific purposes for which licences can be granted. For these pieces of legislation, the Scottish Government or SNH can issue licences.
The specific purposes for which licences can be granted under each piece of legislation, and the appropriate licensing authorities, can be found via the link below. However, as a general rule, SNH is responsible for issuing licences for scientific, educational and conservation-related purposes.
We issue nearly 1000 licences each year and provide advice to the Scottish Government on virtually all licences for which they are the appropriate authority. Our advice is focussed on the conservation implications of proposals.
Further advice and guidance on licensing, including application forms for licences from SNH, can be found on our website.
For further information contact Ben.Ross@snh.gov.uk
01463 725245
Encouraging people to enjoy, understand and look after Scotland’s environment is key to it’s future.
SNH has a general purpose of fostering awareness and facilitating enjoyment of the natural heritage. We also have specific duties to promote awareness and understanding of the:
To do this, we use TV and radio advertising, provide leaflets and other information, and encourage local authorities, ranger services and many others to promote the Codes through their work.
A key area of work has been promoting awareness of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Since 2004, we have increased awareness from under 7% of the Scottish population to over 60%.
We have recently launched the Scottish Marine Wildlife Watching Code and issued a draft Scottish Fossil Code for public consultation.
We’re also working with the Scottish Government to develop a communications plan to help increase people’s awareness of biodiversity issues. We also promote Scotland’s 55 National Nature Reserves as they offer wonderful opportunities to discover and learn more about Scotland’s natural heritage.
For further information contact Dougie.Pollok@snh.gov.uk
01738 458536
SNHs role in helping people to enjoy, understand and value their natural heritage through major communication campaigns are supported by our work on formal education, informal learning (interpretation) and Sharing Good Practice.
Our work on formal education includes:
Our work on informal learning includes:
Through Sharing Good Practice we are helping to make sure that sharing ideas and good practice becomes a routine part of the way we all work.
For further information contact Julie.forrest@snh.gov.uk (01738 458535) or Rachel.hellings@snh.gov.uk (01738 458638).
Since 2001, SNH has had a Gaelic policy and this seeks to:
Since 2001, we have:
For further information contact Shona.maclellan@snh.gov.uk
Tel 01463 725038
SNH engages with the planning system at three levels:
Most of our planning casework arises from consultations about specific development proposals. We receive over 3,000 planning consultation cases each year. Our 11 Area teams are at the ‘front line’ for handling these cases, and they receive support and advice from other parts of SNH.
Our policy statement, SNH and the Town and Country Planning System, and our planning webpage provides more information about our role. In responding to consultations, we aim to minimise impacts on the natural heritage interests and maximise the benefits.
We can be consulted about any kind of development proposal which might affect natural heritage interests. However, there is a statutory requirement for local authorities to consult SNH on:
We are also a “consultation authority” under the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive and play an important role as a source of environmental information for these assessments. Our geographic datasets are available through the Natural Spaces section of our website.
Improving the effectiveness of our work on planning casework is ongoing:
For further information contact richard.ferguson@snh.gov.uk
01738 458540
We also respond to casework on many other issues, including changes of land use which may impact on the natural heritage, “Operations Requiring Consent” on Sites of Special Scientific Interest, woodland establishment and management proposals, consultations from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, river modification works, and proposals affecting European protected species and badgers.
Our 11 Area teams are at the ‘front line’ for handling these cases, and they receive support and advice from other parts of SNH and by a range of continually reviewed guidance.
We work closely with other agencies to streamline consultation procedures, with the aim of reducing overlap of effort and simplifying procedures for our customers.
For further information contact David.Law@snh.gov.uk
01463 725220
SNH gives between £12 and £14 million each year in grants to help people and a wide range of organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to protect and improve Scotland’s natural heritage and to encourage people to understand, enjoy and look after it. You can find out about the grants we have provided on our website.
We have 8 grant schemes:
A grants pack is available for applicants from SNH offices and you can download the application form. Applications for grant of less than £10,000 can be made at any time. We have two application rounds for grants of £10,000 and over. The closing dates are 1 September and 15 April.
Rates of grant vary but are rarely more than 50% of the total project costs. SNH can fund projects over more than one year, with a maximum of three years.
For further information contact Gillian.Macdonald@snh.gov.uk
01463 725271
SNH is committed to continuous improvement – considering new needs and requirements, reflecting on experiences and learning from good practice, and making changes to maximise its impact in shaping the future of the natural heritage.
Our ability to help conserve and encourage enjoyment of the natural heritage is improved by being more efficient and effective, by providing modern public services and by our aspiration to be a flagship public body.
We have set ourselves nine challenges:
To meet these challenges, we have set up a Development Programme which comprises a range of projects designed to:
For further information contact Peter.Hutchinson@snh.gov.uk
01738 458517
The Efficient Government Initiative was established in November 2004 to save money across the Scottish public sector through efficiency improvements, with savings reinvested in public services. The Scottish Government aims to deliver £745 million of cash releasing savings and £300 million of time releasing savings by March 2008. However, it has ambitious plans to increase the total of these savings to £1.5 billion. Our contribution to this target is set at £2 million of efficiency savings by the March 2008 deadline.
Good progress has been made to date, with savings of £1.479 million achieved during 2006/7 (against a target of £1 million), and we are confident of exceeding our £2 million EGI savings target.
We are redirecting these savings to projects giving direct natural heritage benefit. In 2006/7, £687,000 was spread across 46 initiatives, with a focus on habitats and species improvement and research projects. Our approach now is to fund larger programmes of work, such as improving visitor facilities at key National Nature Reserves and implementing the Species Action Framework.
For further information contact: Kenneth.MacLean@snh.gov.uk
0131 446 2227
The On The Ground programme was started in late 2005 and brings together the public bodies responsible for looking after Scotland’s environment.
The programme is developing ways of sharing services and working together that help to improve “on the ground” delivery, such as providing advice and grant support to farmers, communities and businesses. The programme involves:
Scottish Natural Heritage
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Cairngorms National Park Authority
Crofters Commission
Deer Commission for Scotland
Forestry Commission Scotland
Forest Enterprise Scotland
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority
State Veterinary Service
Scottish Government Rural Directorate
Michael Russell, Minister for the Environment, has recently challenged the On The Ground partners to present proposals for a single environment and rural delivery service which will feel like an integrated service to our shared customers, extending the Rural Development Contracts approach to regulatory functions and advisory support. This proposal must be submitted to the Minister by September 2007.
For further information contact: alan.mowle@snh.gov.uk
0131 446 2219