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Scottish Executive against 18 measures that relate to the protection of soil and
habitats. Breaches of GAEC or the Statutory Management Requirements will lead to
penalties being applied to farm support payments paid by the Scottish Executive.
SEPA relies on partnerships to deliver on its environmental objectives. With such
diverse sectors such as farming, it is difficult to know how best to communicate
on issues such as diffuse pollution. No single representative organisation covers
all types of farm business in Scotland. The Scottish Crofting Foundation, Scottish
Rural Property and Business Association and NFU Scotland are key stakeholder
groups and will continue to be closely involved in the RBMP process in Scotland. For
sewage and water-related priorities, SEPA informs a forward investment programme
based on EC Directive requirements and agreed water quality objectives. It is not as
well structured as that for agriculture.
Since SEPA was created in 1996, we have set out to build a constructive relationship
with farmers at both a national and local level. Working closely with SAC and the
Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) on buffer strips, as well as on waste
minimisation and habitat enhancement work has been central to this approach.
Since 2001, SEPA has also worked with farming, environmental, crop protection
companies and the Government in supporting The Voluntary Initiative, the alternative
to the introduction of a pesticides tax. This 5-year programme is to continue and is
expected to align itself more closely with the delivery of WFD objectives, especially for
diffuse pollution. SEPA has also recently commenced dialogue with the Agricultural
Industries Confederation (AIC) as the representative body of suppliers of fertilisers
and feedstuffs to UK agriculture.
Agricultural interests will be represented throughout the RBMP process. Advisory
groups will identify priorities for environmental protection and an associated costeffective
programme of measures. It is vital that land managers engage in this
process as this will then maximise the opportunity to target effective management
action. It will be possible for individual farmers to participate actively in the RBMP
process through the RBMP Area Advisory Group Fora. Farm advisors will also be an
important link between farmers and river basin planning.
REGULATORY CONTROLS
The newly introduced CAR legislation will be covered in detail in the final session of
this Conference. The CAR approach will apply to a number of industry sectors. A
light touch of regulation is proposed for agriculture and forestry compared with other
industries; the emphasis being on the use of GBRs as the mode of Authorisation.
Currently, although there is a significant amount of guidance available for farmers and
the economic drivers are now more aligned towards improving water quality, there is
no single piece of legislation tackling diffuse pollution per se. For rural land use the
proposed approach will follow a similar structure to CAR but will be considerably less
stringent than that applied to point source discharges. A combination of measures
encompassing economic incentives, education, guidance and regulation will be used
as part of a supportive framework. This is in view of the fact that the mitigation of
diffuse pollution requires a different regulatory approach to traditional point source
controls. The nature of diffuse pollution is such that controls must be focused on
the activities causing the pollution rather than quantitatively regulating pollutant
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