15th December 2006 - Ian Jardine

Ian Jardine, Chief Executive of Scottish Natural Heritage

Our Sustainable Future – so what bits of the environment are we going to need?

In his presentation, Ian addressed the question “Our Sustainable Future – so what bits of the environment are we going to need?” This is a question that crops up at a local level in planning applications and local plans and can quickly become a question of compromise. At a global level however this question becomes trickier to address.

Ian identified what Scottish Natural Heritage understands by “living within environmental limits”;

• We should use resources wisely.
• Manage within carrying capacity.
• Maintain and restore environmental quality.
• Apply the precautionary principle in complex and uncertain situations.
• Ensure there are fair benefits and costs. 

To answer his question “what bits of the environment are we going to need?”, Ian highlighted the natural assets of the Highlands and Islands; landscape, marine environment, biodiversity and the importance of peat as carbon reserves all make a valuable contribution. Ian identified how these natural assets create opportunity for the Highlands and Islands;

• A high quality environment attracts high quality employees and new investment.
• A high quality environment supports tourism.
• Creating and managing this high quality environment creates employment .
• Public concern for the environment is creating new markets.
• Communities are becoming more engaged in managing their local environments.

The streaming audio file here allows you to sample key points from Ian’s full presentation. His supporting slide presentation and the questions and answers that followed are also available here in Adobe Reader pdf format.