Category: General

The Scottish Forum recently submitted our priorities to the Advisory Council who are overseeing the  National Strategy for Economic Transformation, as part of the Chief Economist Directorate of The Scottish Government. This was in response to their recent consultation seeking priorities for a new ten year economic strategy. The Advisory Council is composed of business leaders, academics and economists who will help shape and…

Introduction Recent years have seen the UK demonstrate a promising mindset shift when it comes to the environment. This transition in the planning and development sector away from avoidance of negative impacts on the environment towards delivering net benefits is attracting attention globally. Whilst net gains for biodiversity are essential for sustainable development, and to tackle the ecological crisis, it…

Nature offers multiple ways to tackle many of the issues we face as a result of a changing climate and our changing society. We have always sought help from nature, but only recently are we beginning to fully understand and appreciate the value of nature as a problem solver. In Scotland, communities are suffering from issues such as flooding, poor…

Event rationale The Scottish Forum recently held a joint event in partnership with Scottish Environment LINK, which sought to answer the question, “What are the top 5 opportunities for Scotland’s land based natural capital in the context of a green recovery?” The rationale for the event was captured neatly by a quote from Dieter Helm, formerly Chair of the Natural Capital…

Introduction and background People today have more awareness than ever about their impacts and dependencies on the environment. Perhaps this is due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has highlighted how important our relationship with nature is, when all we could do is go out for a walk in the park. Or maybe it is because of all the countries that…

Time has certainly flown since my appointment in August 2019, and few could have predicted the extraordinary times that this period would entail with the global pandemic. I hope that all of our members, and colleagues, friends, and families, have been as safe as possible during this period. I am sure, like me, you are looking forward to some more…

Natural Flood management in Scotland There is growing recognition that alongside more traditional structural measures, Natural Flood Management (NFM) can represent a key part of a catchment-based approach to sustainable flood risk management. When used effectively, it can help reduce the impact of floods, as well as improving water quality, increasing biodiversity and delivering other benefits. Although primarily aimed at…

The Scottish Forum recently hosted the first webinar for our new Conservation Finance Pioneers’ Working Group, that explored different options for investing in the marine environment. Hosted on our online Basecamp hub, the event was open to all members of the new working group, with three presentations from invited guests to introduce examples of marine funds, that are either established, or being developed, The aim of the webinar was…

  The Ecosystem Services Community Scotland (ESCom) was initiated in 2014 as an informal community of practice to foster academic collaboration around the emerging natural capital research and policy agendas. Its scope quickly broadened to focus on three core aims: encouraging dialogue between Science, Policy and Practice; aligning Scottish ecosystem services research; and organising and promoting events to support knowledge exchange. Between 2014 and 2020 ESCom organised 25 events, ranging…