Hansard

I am glad to be here to welcome the publication of the national parks strategy for Scotland. I thank my colleague Claire Baker for securing the debate, which seems timely, and support the remarks by Sarah Boyack and Alex Fergusson, who were members of Parliament at the start of the process and have reflected on that in their speeches.

The words “Unfinished Business” in the report’s title are apt. The report points to the vast network of natural landscapes that should be ideal settings for a number of national parks, although there are currently only two of them out of a designation of 15 across the UK, I understand. The time has come for us to add to those two. Labour introduced the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000, and things have moved on since then.

According to the report, the expert recommendation is that the Scottish landscape should be able to support four or five national parks, or perhaps more. It points out that neither of the existing national parks has marine or coastal features, as my colleague Claire Baker stated. I certainly agree with the argument that at least one additional national park should include a suitable area of the Scottish coastline, considering that Scotland has such a rich coastal environment. I would say this as a South Scotland MSP, but perhaps the Solway Firth might be an option.

A marine national park was mooted at stakeholder meetings in Dumfries—one of which I attended—in the third session of the Scottish Parliament. That one meeting demonstrated to me how clearly the model will allow stakeholders including the local authority, inshore fishermen, tourism providers and non-governmental organisations to come together to allow an early resolution of any potential conflicts and to support a sustainable way forward for the precious marine environment and marine biodiversity.

The benefits of increasing the number of national parks cannot be understated. The protection that is granted to such spaces ensures that the natural environment is handled with greater care, which allows biodiversity to develop and provides essential green carbon sinks, which will help to tackle climate change.

Partnership working involving local communities is a fine model of sustainable development in action, and it supports the rural economy in a sustainable way. In the Loch Lomond and Trossachs national park, for example, great efforts have been made to preserve the water vole population, and plans are under way to create the largest native woodland in Scotland.

With regard to climate change, the Cairngorms national park has been running an initiative to encourage local residents to switch to wood as a carbon-neutral fuel source.

As my colleague Claire Baker highlighted, there is the potential for new national parks in the eastern part of my region. I have been made aware by constituents of an interesting proposal relating to the area. The national park strategy was discussed at a public meeting in Yetholm at which John Mayhew, from the Scottish Campaign for National Parks, and the Association for the Preservation of Rural Scotland raised the idea of a Scottish Cheviots park. Significantly, it was suggested that such a project could be linked, as Claire Baker stressed, to the existing Northumberland national park, which reaches right up to the Scottish border. The proposal makes not only geographic sense but economic sense, as it would create more tourism opportunities in the Borders, provide environmental drivers for biodiversity and make social sense for rural communities. In addition, the proposal would provide the opportunity for good cross-border working.

Again, I congratulate Claire Baker on taking the issue forward, and I hope to hear from the minister about a possible review.