Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution

Thank you for inviting the Society to respond to the recent consultation by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. We have discussed this widely among the Society's specialist research groups and have asked five specialists in the field to contribute their views.

In addition to the Research Groups, those who we consulted were Professors Mike Breheny, Yvonne Rydin, Tim O'Riordan, Richard Munton and Mike Hebbert. The purpose of this consultation was to identify the key issues that geographers would wish to see as part of more detailed investigations in the second phase of the study.

The following five main points that we suggest could be taken into consideration are as follows:

1. Sustainability indicators and community involvement in interpreting trends in well-being and empowerment.

2. Strategic management of natural resources, notably water and soil, taking into account an 'entitlement' for nature.

3. Reallocating property rights in the landscape, so farm management responsibilities extend across the boundary fence to the ecosystem and beyond.

4. Giving the custodial agencies, such as English Nature, SHN, CCW, SEPA, the Countryside and Environment Agencies, more formal joint responsibilities over the planning decisions relating to coasts, sensitive landscapes and freshwater resources. This would permit the consideration of local vs national needs, and also involve community networks.

5. Incorporation of deliberative and inclusive processes into planning decisions at all local levels. This can be exemplified by regional vs local autonomy - this is the dilemma between plan-led strategies (for housing, water etc.) and local needs and aspirations. One way forward here is to have a network of community facilitators to be activated between the national, regional and local levels.

6. Democratic control - we support the recommendations raised by the Commission in its 21st Report on setting standards to incorporate social values into environmental regulation, and beyond this into planning.

7. Climate change - there is almost no strategic intelligence for coping with climate change at the local level. All organisations need to undertake climate response audits, carbon audits and build these into their complete strategies.

8. Environmental processes - Scottish Natural heritage have pioneered ways in which environmental processes can be incorporated into planning, by overcoming local administrative boundaries and by developing sophisticated sustainability indicators. Perhaps the SNH should give evidence on this topic.

9. Training is vital. All of the proposals involve training, as well as partnership. Perhaps the greatest need for training will be for community facilitation.

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