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Publications : SEPA View : 28 : HTML Version
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FOREWORD
The turn of the year prompts us to indulge in reflections on the past and contemplation of the future. Writing this foreword for the first SEPA View of 2006 led me into just such a process.
2005 was a difficult but auspicious year for the world, in all sorts of ways. If I could draw one lesson from the year it would be that we ignore nature and natural forces at our own extreme peril. Reading the articles in the following pages reinforces the fact that climate change – a key factor in the increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes of the sort that caused so much devastation last year – is real and affecting us now. You will read news stories (pages 17-18) from around the globe that reinforce that view - melting glaciers in the Himalayas, the plight of polar bears in Canada, and changes to the momentum of the Gulf Stream.
If these issues seem to you to be tragic but distant you are probably making at least one of two of the mistakes common to those of us who enjoy a western lifestyle. The first is thinking that things that happen in other parts of the world don’t affect us directly; the second mistake is our post-industrial belief that technology has allowed us to ‘conquer’ nature, that we as a species are detached from it. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In 2006, SEPA will be doing and saying a great deal about those issues and perceptions. In October, we will be publishing a report on the state of Scotland’s environment. It will be a snapshot of the quality of the land, air and water on which Scotland depends. It will allow us not only to identify the key issues, but also the general trends in the decade since the State of the Environment report in 1996.
But more than that, throughout the year we will be looking at Scotland within the global context, because what we do affects the rest of the world, and what happens in the rest of the world does affect us. As a nation we can and must do our bit to improve the environment. Caring for the environment and its resources doesn’t mean reducing your quality of life, nor will it cripple Scotland’s economy.
Look, for instance, at the experience of companies who are finding environmental good practice is good for business – like the winners of the 2005 Green Tourism and VIBES awards (pages 1-3 and 18-19).
As Scotland’s Deputy Environment Minister, Rhona Brankin, says (pages 8-9) climate change is the key environmental priority for all countries. If her vision for a Scotland where all Scots can live and work in a safe, clean environment is to be fulfilled, we all need to work hard to make sustainable development a reality. The recently launched “Choosing Our Future”, Scotland’s Sustainable Development Strategy, is a central part of that.
Campbell Gemmell
SEPA Chief Executive
A full contents list for this HTML version is available via the navigation bar to the left. Alternatively, you can download the pdf version here
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