SEA SCOTLAND 2019
Sea Scotland 2019 conference reports – now available!
With thanks to all those who contributed to Sea Scotland 2019, we’re delighted to share the conference series Steering Group’s report of the event, along with summaries from the three workshops.
Workshop 1: Marine Protected Areas and climate change
Workshop 2: #ScotlandAdapts – changing behaviours for a changing climate
Workshop 3: Marine habitat restoration for ecosystem resilience – opportunities and challenges
Sea, Soul and Society: Adapting to climate change
Sea Scotland is an annual conference, now in its 4th year, which aims to bring together key actors and facilitate discussion on critical issues facing the marine environment in Scotland to support progressive marine policy and management.
Sea Scotland conference 2019 Photo credit: Chris Leakey
Our society and businesses need to adapt to climate change impacts that are now inevitable. Nature can help us adapt, limiting the risks and providing some new opportunities, but nature may itself need to adapt to changing physical and chemical conditions. To be ‘climate ready’ we need to:
– Help ecosystems to function naturally, to be as resilient as possible and able to provide us with many benefits;
– Identify, protect and where possible enhance the features and functions of nature that help shield us from the negative effects of climate change;
– Ensure businesses and communities will be robust to projected changes that may affect their physical infrastructure or the natural resources upon which they depend;
– Help people, nature and businesses to adapt to climate change, by making it easier to take action and make the right choices.
The challenge is intellectual in terms of the required scientific knowledge and policy drivers, but also behavioural. At the levels of the individual, communities, organisations and businesses, we seek wider spread change in the choices and actions people take; we call these adaptation behaviours.
Sea Scotland 2019 took place on Wednesday 19th June, 9.30am – 4.30pm, at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation. Check out Twitter and LinkedIn to catch up.
ABOUT SEA SCOTLAND
The annual Sea Scotland conference provides a multi-interest forum for Scotland-focused dialogue and knowledge-exchange for progressive marine policy and management. The conference aims to bring together bring experts and stakeholders to generate and share innovative thinking in order that Scotland addresses challenges of managing activities within its seas sustainably.
Hosted in Kinghorn, Fife, Sea Scotland 2018 built on the successes of Sea Scotland 2017 and the inaugural Sea Scotland 2016 conference to bring together marine industry representatives, conservation bodies, academics, policy makers along with international experts and national government. In 2018 the Sea Scotland Steering Group worked with Young Scot representatives as part of the Year of Young People (2018). This included exploring ideas for improved youth engagement and ensuring the conference provides a platform for youth views on the marine environment, its development and governance. Discussion focused on the role of communities and young people in decision making for your seas. You can see the 2018 conference programme and reports here.
The conference is a partner-driven initiative involving Fauna and Flora International, Ocean Dialogues Ltd., Scottish Environment LINK, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), and the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
For any further information, or to discuss how you or your organisation might get involved in next year’s Sea Scotland conference, contact the organisers.
Follow us on Twitter @SeaScotland to get the latest updates
